Samantha Allan Park Part 3: A Slice of Life
by TheNerdyTomboyNewb96
Summary: Shredder, Tatsu, Sachs, Bebop, and Rocksteady, are in jail. Kraang has been sent back to Dimension X. Knowing this, life slowly goes back to the way it was as everyone anticipates when the next crazy event will come. Includes chapters of the groups life as it moves forward, bringing together old and new family members, and maybe more for some of our favorite characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #46

***Saturday July 4****th****, 2015. Church, 12p.m.* **

****The turtles were now making their way up towards the top pews of the church. April, Kris, and Irma had all lead the boys in through a back entrance so that no one would see them. As April guided them upstairs she had instructed them that one of them (or Casey once he arrived later on) would provide further instructions, but for now they would just be chilling out in the top pews. There was one way glass that had been built in so that viewers from the top pews would not be a distraction, and it was also a safety feature.

The turtles watched as people in all sorts of fancy clothes continued to enter the church.  
Mikey frowned as he looked at the people down below.  
"Where's Sam at? Is she running late?" he asked.  
"Don't worry. She's taking forever to get ready since she can't do her own hair and make-up, but Kris said she's in the building" Donnie reassured.  
"Then where is she?" Raph asked as he also looked throughout the crowd below.  
"She's in the bridal party. Based on tradition, that means she will not enter our sights until the precession has begun."  
"Is that why the music's playing?" Mikey asked as loud organs began to ring throughout the church.  
"It should be" Donnie said with a smile.  
"You texted him right?" Leo asked.  
"Yesssssss, don't worry!" Mikey stated as he made his hand form an 'o.k.' symbol.  
Jay had instructed the boys ahead of time to send him a text as to when they arrived at the church. None of them were exactly sure why they needed to do this, and even Sam was dumbfounded (or so she pretended to be) as to knowing why her brother had instructed the turtles to do this.  
"Oh hey, the chief is here" Raph stated as he pointed to the woman who was taking a seat with some officers who were dressed in their uniforms.  
"I wish she would get back to us about the information we sent her. It's freaking me out that we sent her that recording and she hasn't replied to us in any way yet" Donnie slightly frantically stated.

A couple of weeks previous, the turtles had sat down with Sam and recorded everything that she had to say in regards to what happened when they were all on the Technodrome. Each turtle contributed in explaining all that had happened, but the turtles were shocked to hear Sam mention what happened at the very end of the battle.  
According to Sam, a group of small 'humans with pointy ears and bright spikey colored hair' that had shrunk themselves down where you could only see and hear them if they were right in front of your eyes and ears had provided Sam with a mutagen that would allow her to read Krangs mind for literally 10 seconds. This was what Sam had used in order to jab her hand into the tentacles that were located in the back of his head.  
Obviously Sam could not learn everything in 10 seconds, but she learned that he was the leader of an army of other small Krang, and also of some environmental beings such as rock soldiers.  
She had learned that Krang had taken over multiple other planets throughout what was apparently an incredibly huge galaxy and that although him and his ship were damaged pretty badly, he was far from being done with Earth and with the turtles.  
Sam had stated that the weird looking people that gave her the chemicals to learn all this by connecting her nerves with Krangs were known as the Neutrinos, but the oldest brothers still weren't sure how true all this was.  
What was currently upsetting Donnie was that they had sent this recording to Vincent, but she had yet to say anything back. For whatever reason this just left him with a bad feeling.

Donnie then felt someone nudge his arm. He turned to his left to see Leo staring at him with concerned features.  
"Hey, don't worry about it for now. Right now we're here for our family. If Vincent is planning something, then we're not going to worry about it for this one day."  
Donnie nodded with a smile.  
"Ohhhhh I think it's starting!" Mikey screamed into a whisper.  
The four brothers looked forward as they saw the groomsmen and the bridesmaids enter the church in pairs of two.  
The men were all wearing sharp black tuxes, and the women that all came in were wearing gorgeous pastel colored dresses. They came in wearing purple, orange, yellow, pink, and blue pastel colors, and each woman looked stunning in their color, as if the pastel shade was created for them to wear themselves.  
"Not to sound totally rude, by why are they all Asian?" Raph asked.  
"Jay's family grew up in a community that consisted of mostly Asian American citizens, and since Sam's family was so close to them, they practically got to know everyone in their neighborhood. These are the people that Jay and Brenda have practically known since birth, hence Sam being friends with all their younger brothers" Mikey stated aloud.  
The other three brothers then looked over towards their youngest with curiosity.  
"And you know this, how?" Leo asked.  
Mikey shrugged. "I asked questions when she showed me pictures of rehearsals, she answered my questions" he said bluntly.  
"Whoa" Raph muttered.

The rest of the boys looked forward and now they knew why Raph had made his comment.  
Walking in now was Sam, but this was a new Sam.

This Sam's hair had been straightened and slightly curled inwards at the ends. This Sam had eyeliner that made her usually dark brown eyes look as if they were bright colored orbs. This Sam had long lashes and hints of green eye shadow that matched perfectly to the light red blush on her cheeks. This Sam had just the perfect touch of light pink that was only hints away from being a more skin toned lip gloss that made her lips shine and look smooth and luscious. This Sam had obviously used lotions that made her skin glow in a way that no one had ever seen before. This Sam was wearing white heals that emphasized how long her legs truly were, and how slim and fit they were and that showed off her painted tone nails.  
She wore a long pastel green a line dress (something that would make the tomboy feel comfortable while also meeting the quota of being 'dressed appropriately for a wedding').

The boys all stared in amazement. In the little over a year they had known the girl they had only ever seen her wear jeggings, sweatpants, or co-ed sporty shorts, so seeing her in a dress, and in heels, and with make-up on…it was a lot to take in.

"Wow" Donnie muttered, "I knew she was gonna have to clean up for this, but Sam looks beautiful." He looked down at the girl with slightly widened eyes. He was so used to seeing her nerdy side, since the two nerded out together every time they hung out, so seeing Sam look like a typical girl and not her tomboy sporty self was astonishing. The transformation was so beautifully surreal.

Leo was staring at her the same way, but with a small smile. While he agreed that Sam looked gorgeous, more than anything he was happy to see that Sam was walking straight and was keeping calm. Knowing her, she had to be mentally freaking out dressed that way. She wouldn't care that all eyes were on her, she was used to that, she was worried about being dressed the way she was.  
"She's doing well so far. She hasn't stumbled or frozen up."

"When did she learn how to walk in heels? She literally told me she falls every time she even tries them on" Raph chuckled. He didn't want to be rude, but he never expected Sam to look like the girl that he was looking at right now. As he thought this he thought back to his conversation with Sam when she learned he was holding Chuck's old nunchuk and how she didn't want people to think differently of her because she was a girl, or because of her past. He mentally swore to himself that he wouldn't go overboard in telling her how beautiful she was (even though she truly was a remarkable sight to look upon) in order to protect her feelings.

Mikey felt the same way as Raph to certain extents, but as he stared down with wide eyes at his best friend he also felt disappointment rise up within him. Mikey knew that Sam was cute, and he knew that she had an attractive build from being physically fit, but he had never viewed her the same way that he was now.  
Why hadn't he ever thought of her as the beautiful being that he was staring at right now? Of course, he knew that the Sam down below was an illusion, and he knew that this may literally be the only time he ever saw Sam dressed this way, so that had played a major role in why he had never expected her to look as stunning as she did now…but he felt ashamed in realizing that it wasn't until he saw her this way for him to see how much true and natural beauty she truly carried within her.  
He should have realized how beautiful she was from the beginning. He should have recognized her beauty when she had her sweaty hair pulled back in a ponytail during training, not now when it was straightened so that not one fly away lay on her head. He should have recognized that Sam had curves just like any woman and not just noticed her figure now while she wore a dress that comfortably hugged her body. He should have realized that Sam would have rocked a pair of heels even though all he had ever seen he wear were sporty or skater shoes.  
Was it because she was like his sister, or because since day one she had expressed her tomboy-isms that he had never imagined her to look the way she did now?  
He mentally vowed that when he met up with his friend again that he wouldn't gush over her like he was in his mind just now, but instead would mentally remind himself that Sam was still a girl and that being a tomboy didn't mean he should ignore everything that she was and could be in every way. He would still treat her the same, but in certain ways he would make sure to show more respect towards her. That's what a best friend should do.

"Heh, I bet Kris is happy right now" Leo said with a smirk.  
"Does she still like him?" Raph asked. "I know she's mentioned that in the past they were inseparable."  
"She's never mentioned anything about it if she does" Mikey stated.  
"Oh he's definitely happy though, look there and you can see his face" Donnie said as he pointed to a piece of glass from the window of the church.  
As Kris and Sam continued to walk down the aisle a chunk of the glass revealed Kris's face, and he was smiling as if today was the greatest day of his life. Granted, his older sister was getting married today, but the boys also had a feeling that it was because of the beautiful girl that was holding onto his arm as they walked down the aisle together.  
"He's smiling more than she is though" Leo noticed.  
"She's probably just better at staying calm" Donnie teased.  
"Ohhh there's Brenda!" Mikey stated aloud.  
Everyone throughout the church rose from their seats as Brenda entered the church and slowly began to walk down the aisle.  
Since Brenda had lost her father years before her family was forced into the Foot, Irma, Brenda's mother, did the honors of walking her daughter down the aisle towards her fiancée.  
"I wonder what her face looks like, since Jay is beaming" Mikey wondered aloud as he stared at his brother figure who couldn't wipe the smile off his face even if he wanted to.

Finally Brenda had reached the front of the room and was now standing across from her soon to be husband. The turtles couldn't make out what she was whispering to Jay, but they saw the two smiling and then saw Jay turn towards everyone in the pews.

"Before we begin our ceremony, many of you know that we have some special guests with us today. None of us can see them, but Brenda and I are grateful they were able to make it today. We both would like to thank them, because without their help, this marriage would never have had the chance to become official. And not only have I and my fiancée been affected by these four, but almost everyone in this room is able to live their lives freely because of the four heroes that joined us the day we broke free from the Foot's hold. Although we cannot see you, the people in this room have been waiting for the moment where they can formally thank you for everything you have given back to them. So, shadows in the night, we thank you."  
As Jay said these final words, he and Brenda then bowed forward as they faced the non-see through glass high up-above.  
The four brothers were shocked since they had no idea that this was happening, and even though none of them but Mikey would have ever admitted it, but each of them felt as if they might cry as every single person in the church stood up, turned around, and then slightly bowed forward in the direction the turtles were standing in from up above.  
The brothers looked down and saw faces, young and old, faces of all colors coming from different backgrounds, all types of people that were bowing with huge smiles on their faces. They even saw a few young hands waving upwards as if they personally saw who was behind the glass.  
"This is incredible" Donnie muttered with a smile.  
"Guys, we have the best human family ever" Mikey sniffed.  
Leo nodded. "We do, we really do."  
"Even now he's still protecting us, they all are" Raph said as he saw April and Sam stand up straight as they looked upwards with beaming smiles.

Soon everyone was standing and sitting in their proper stances, and the wedding continued on. The turtles had only seen wedding ceremonies on television, so it was a true honor to actually witness something so beautiful up close and in person. The scenery, the filled church with friends and loved ones, the words from the vows being shared that demonstrated how much these two cared for each other. The manliest of men couldn't deny how incredible it was to be a part of this event.

Finally the couple had reached the final step in the ceremony: the kiss that binded them as husband and wife. Of course Mikey was in tears because this was such a magical moment. Raph was keeping it together, but holy shit he was so close to crying as well because of how beautiful the vows alone were.  
He tried to calm himself by starting conversation.  
"So what do we do now?" he asked.  
"Well, the instructions were to wait for further instructions, so we do that" Donnie said as he rubbed his brother's shoulders, sensing that his older macho brother was fighting back tears.  
Just on time, April entered the space.  
"Hey guys, and Mikey these are for you" she said with a smile as he handed him a full box of tissues.  
"April you're the best" he wailed as more tears began to fall.  
"So what's the plan?" Leo asked.  
"So once it's clear I'm going to lead you to the upper rafts of the back room where the reception is being held. That area has lights and all different mechanics for shows and dances and stuff, so they have these rafts that you can walk across almost like it's a movie set. You guys are gonna camp out up there and people are going to keep coming up and checking on you."  
April looked down at her phone.  
"Alright Casey says the main guests have left. The only ones left in the church are family members of the bridal party who want to take pictures. Now's the time to move."

And just like April said, the boys were now relocated to the walkways above what was being used as the reception hall. The hall was decorated to look just as gorgeous as the church had. The centerpieces contained pictures of the bride and groom from childhood all the way up until when Jay had proposed. A slideshow of all these pictures was also playing in the front of the hall. The table cloths were all pastel colors, which seemed to be the color scheme of this wedding, and there were vases of beautiful pastel shaded roses all throughout the room. The guests were all participating in some fun games and activities that were scattered throughout the room until finally everyone in the bridal party had arrived.  
The bride and groom had their first dance, Kris and Sam both read their heartwarming speeches that they had written, Irma had made a lovely toast, and then everyone began to eat and mingle.

Then came the next unique portion of the night, the group dances.  
Right before the dances began, the four boys got a message from April that read 'if you tease Sam about what happens next, she said she will literally ignore you for a year.'  
The boys all looked down towards where Sam was sitting at the head table right next to Brenda, wondering what the hell was about to happen that she would be so embarrassed by it.  
That's when the music began to play.  
"Is…is this from High School Musical?" Raph asked.  
Leo raised a brow as he smiled at his brother.  
"And you know that how?"  
"And you know I'm right, how?" Raph grunted with an irked expression.  
"It is!" Mikey announced as he held his hands together.  
"Guys, it was all our childhood, as men we can admit that we all saw those movies. Don't make it weird" Donnie said as he nudged his older brothers.  
As 'Can I Have This Dance?' came on and played throughout the room, the boys watched as each groomsmen took the hand of a bridesmaid and walked out towards the dance floor where the bride and groom were already standing together and beginning their portion of the dance.  
Of course Sam was paired with Kris and the two were now dancing hand in hand.  
While some of the other pairings were giggling and even making other guests watching laugh playfully because they accidentally miss-stepped or maybe were a bit goofy because someone in the duo was overly confident or a bit more shy than the other, Sam and Kris being the dancers they were, were in sync throughout the entire performance.

Mikey felt weird as the first chorus ended and Kris and Sam now parted ways and then joined up with others in the group. After the first chorus all the pairs ended up splitting up and dancing with others in the group. The turtles tried to remember who the faces were of the men that Sam was now dancing with since she had shown them so many pictures of people she and Jay were friends with.  
Mikey (and the other brothers) watched as Sam moved on to dance with Ryan (Kevin's older brother) as their hands connected and the two twirled towards the next pair where Sam was passed on to Jason, and then not long after to Eric (both being Key's older brothers). She was then guided towards Henry (Ken's older brother) and then finally towards a man named Justin who didn't have any siblings who were Sam's age, but who had still grown up being close friends with Jay.  
Mikey felt weird for being happier to see Sam dance with these other men than when she was dancing with Kris. He lightly shook his head, not wanting to concern his brothers, as he tried to shake these thoughts from his mind. Why would he ever think that? He was Sam's best friend, he should be happy when she was happy, yet these weird feelings came back as Sam reunited with Kris on the dance floor.

All the women were then lifted up into the air as the men spun around and continued on with the motion of the dance. Then it happened again and Mikey felt his chest begin to hurt.  
'Man it must be hot up here or something' he thought to himself, 'that's gotta be it.'  
He then watched as Sam was dipped by Kris and how she clung to him so that she wouldn't fall. He then saw for the first time the smile on her face that now matched the smile on her partner's face.  
"Awwww look how happy she is" Leo stated genuinely.  
"Can I tease her about that?" Raph said with a devilish grin.  
"Heh, yeah. If you have a death wish" Donnie teased.  
While the other brothers were enjoying the dance and were thrilled to see Sam so happy, Mikey just felt…weird. As much as he loved to see Sam dance and be happy, he just felt…not like himself.  
The boys then watched as Kris lifted Sam up in a move where he held her from behind. One of Sam's arms was wrapped around Kris while the other was thrust into the air, while her body was leaned back and curled as Kris spun them around.  
'They look like their meant for each other…I have to get used to this' Mikey thought to himself. He then concluded that this feeling was brotherly instinct, because of course he wanted Sam to be happy just like his brothers had been commenting on seconds ago, but seeing her with Kris just didn't feel right. It had to be his brotherly intuition of not wanting her to get her heartbroken.

Somehow this had helped put Mikey at ease as the dance number concluded.  
He also assumed this was the case because as the song repeated (it had been edited so that it was much longer than the original) his weird feelings went away as Sam began to dance with other guys. Each member of the wedding party was now branching out and pulling spectating guests out onto the dance floor to dance with them (although this was already rehearsed). Sam went down the line of pulling the rest of the members of the '5K' out onto the dance floor. First she danced with Key, then Kyle, then Kevin, and then Ken. The final person she had pulled out onto the dance floor was Casey. It was perfect that he ended up attending and agreeing to participate since they were outnumbered during planning, so Casey was part of the final group to be pulled onto the dance floor and soon after was paired up with April.

At this point Sam was now dancing with Jay while Kris was now dancing with Brenda, the two couple of siblings in the middle of the dance floor while everyone else paused and watched.  
This was when Mikey knew that his feelings were just brotherly and nothing more. He hadn't felt weird as he watched Sam dance with the other men in the wedding party, and he didn't feel weird as he watched Sam dance with the rest of her guy friends. This had to be proof that his feelings were just of brotherly worry because he knew that Sam had a crush on Kris in the past and he assumed she still had those feelings now that her human childhood friend had now reconnected with her once everything about them being tied to the Foot had been revealed.

None of the brothers would admit this to the others, but they all felt a strange feeling as they watched Sam dance with Kris. They were all so used to Sam being her dorky tomboy self that they had never considered picturing her with other guys. They didn't care that she had other guy friends, and they all knew that she would obviously attract someone someday, but since she was their sister they all worried about her getting hurt. And based on everything she had told them, they all knew that her and Kris's friendship was a unique case because of their ties to the Foot. They all wanted nothing more than for her to be happy and to be with someone that treated her right. Oh god if she ever dated a guy that wronged her, he would be a deformed bloody pulp in mere seconds. They were her brothers now and they were always going to worry about her, so of course it was only natural for their protective instincts to kick in. They would never tell Casey, but they had told April that they were keeping their eyes on Casey as well. So far he had been checking out and they could sense he was a good guy (Raph had especially grown closer to the man in the same way that Leo had grown personally closer to Jay), but they were continuously going to keep an extra close eye on him simply because they could sense that the two had a connection, and again, if anyone ever hurt April, well let's just say they would regret it for the rest of their life.

The humans down below continued on with their group routines as all the women danced (and kicked ass while doing so) to CL's Baddest Female, and the guys looked…interesting as they danced to Enrique Iglesias's "Finally Found You." There were multiple other dance routines that went on, some that were surprises and some that were even spontaneous. The choreographed dancing ended with Jay and Brenda dancing together to a faster paced and then a slow song. All the turtles cared about the entire time they watched these fancy and comical routines was that Sam had the hugest smile on her face the entire time.  
Leo shook his head.  
"Can you believe she was going to turn herself in and throw all of this away?" he asked in a saddened tone.  
"We'll never let her do that" Donnie said as he looked over at his brother, "we're gonna make sure she looks like that for the rest of her life" he said as he pointed to Sam who was now happily dancing with her female friends now that everyone was dancing freely.  
"Do you think we can do that?" Raph asked.  
The brothers all looked at him funny.  
"What do you mean?" Donnie asked.  
"Well look at her, she's with people and she's smiling like crazy."  
"She smiles with us" Mikey stated defensively.  
"Well yeah, but with people, it has to be different. She deserves moments like that down there, and she can't have that if she's always with us-"  
"And we won't let that happen either" Leo cut in.  
"What?" Mikey asked, astounded at hearing his brother hear that they would keep Sam away from them.  
"Not like that" Leo stated, "but we'll make sure she lives her life to the fullest and doesn't purposefully stay behind to wait for us. Obviously we want to spend time with her, she's our sister now, but we also have to push her towards hanging out with people like she is now. She deserves those happy moments as well."  
"It's like when she told us which university she was going to" Donnie added. "We made her literally write us a list of reasons why she wanted to attend Blair in order to prove that she wasn't attending just to stay near us and keep us happy rather than travel somewhere further away and explore the world."  
Mikey nodded his head, now he understood and he agreed.  
"Now I get you, and I agree. We will take care of our sis and protect her, but we also need to encourage her to live her life and not always worry about us. That's what real friends, real brothers would do" he said confidently.  
"Yeah, but we have to keep an eye out on that" Raph scoffed as he pointed down at Kris who now playfully wrapped his arm around Sam's waist as she then threw her arm over his shoulder in return.  
"Oh for sure!" Mikey exclaimed as he formed O's with his hands and brought them towards his eyes as if looking through binoculars.  
Donnie and Leo just laughed at the other two.  
"Guys, we'll obviously keep an eye on him, but he's been a good guy so far. He's level headed and family oriented and he's been nothing but respectful and caring whenever we met him" Leo reassured.  
"Ehhhh I don't know, he just seems fishy" Mikey said as he rubbed his chin.  
"Yeah, and he upset her when she lost her family" Raph added with a grunt.  
Donnie sighed. "Unfortunately that's true, but it was with best intentions. He was trying to protect her-"  
"And he hurt her even more instead" Raph huffed.  
"Well her own brother kept secrets from her as well, does that mean she shouldn't be close to him anymore either?" Leo questioned.  
Raph and Mikey looked at each other and sighed.  
"He has a point" Mikey said glumly.  
"Tch, Leo always makes a good point, especially when Donnie is on his side."  
"Point for leader and brains" Donnie said enthusiastically as he and his oldest brother high fived.

Not long after, April and Casey brought food up to the guys and the two kept the four company for about an hour as people down below continued to mingle.  
April stared down through the openings along the ceiling and watched Sam as she was currently jamming out with her friends.  
April laughed as she shook her head. "That girl is definitely something else."  
Raph peeked down and noticed that Sam was now adding a lot more hip into her dancing.  
"Something else is right" he said as he looked away.  
"Awwww you guys don't like seeing Sam dance like a lady" Casey teased as he saw the way the guys were watching over her as she added hips and ass to her dancing.  
"We did enjoy seeing you dance" Leo teased. As he raised his glass to drink he sent a mocking glare towards Casey as he looked over the edge of the glass.  
"Hey I rocked that routine, don't hate on it!" Casey laughed.  
"Well you should have, that was super easy!" Mikey said as he waved his hand forward.  
"Psh, I wanna see you do better" Casey teased.  
Mikey just laughed in response, but in his head he wanted to tell the group that he could do better because he had helped Sam come up with a routine that was ten times better, but for whatever reason the routine that had been performed had been dumbed down by a lot!  
"So, I've been instructed to inform you guys that Sam will not be visiting you tonight" April said in a depressed yet gentle tone.  
Donnie nodded his head. "Well that makes sense."  
April tilted her head to the side. "It does?"  
"Well yeah, she's embarrassed for us to see her dressed the way she is. She's told us before that peoples thoughts of her in her dress and makeup was her biggest worry about the wedding."  
April nodded.  
"Besides, she's happy down there. We don't want to disrupt that" Leo said genuinely.  
April shot him and the rest of the brothers an odd look.  
"You…you guys know she's the happiest when she's with you, right?"  
The guys shrugged.  
"Well yeah," Raph started, "but obviously she can't hang out with us the way she's hanging out with those people down there."  
"Okay no!" April announced, waving her hand in front of her to deny what Raph said, "that specific situation down below doesn't count because those are females. She wouldn't dance that way with any guy ever in general."  
'Ahhhh so Sam sees me as a fellow female companion. I guess that's fair, I have been seeing her as one of the guys all this time' Mikey thought to himself as he recalled moments where he and Sam had jokingly danced the same way together as she was now with her 'girlfriends.' He thought this as he continued to watch over her, unlike his brothers who would break their gaze in order to turn and talk to April and Casey.  
"Don't worry April" Leo stated, "we know we're important to Sam, but we also just want to make sure she's living her life to the fullest and not holding back for us" Leo kindly reassured.  
"Jay must be so happy to have you guys in his life" Casey said as he threw an arm around Raph's shoulder as a means to tease his new favorite mutant friend.

The group continued to talk for a while longer and then the two humans returned to the event being held down below.  
The reception lasted for a few more hours and then guests began to make their leave.  
Sam headed home with a few friends so that she could go change at her apartment and get into comfy clothes.  
Jay and Brenda were about to leave for their honeymoon, but they wanted to greet and thank their green friends before they disappeared for the next two weeks.  
April and Casey guided the boys towards an alley behind the church and soon after they arrived, the bride and groom met up with them.  
A thrilled Brenda ran up and gave each brother a huge hug, and Jay being the big dork he was followed in her footsteps.  
"Congratulations you guys, you definitely go well together" Leo teased as the goofy man caught up to his silly wife.  
"Thanks man. It's crazy because we've always been together, but making things official is the greatest feeling in the world" Jay said as he kept his arms wrapped around his wife.  
"So cute… you're giving me cavities" Mikey said as he pretended to faint.  
"Ahhhh I just wish Sam was here. I'm so sorry about her behavior you guys."  
"What are you talking about?" Raph questioned.  
"She didn't visit you guys or anything! Like you're her best friends and her family!"  
"And that's why we get it" Mikey stated. "She didn't want us to gush over her, which I'm sure TONS of people did that today." He said this last part with a raised brow, questioning Jay as to whether this was the case or not.  
The man sighed. "You've got a point. I just don't want you guys to get the wrong idea as to why she didn't come up to visit you."  
"Hey, don't worry about it. We know her well enough to know where her head's at" Leo said as he pat the man on the shoulder.  
Jay couldn't help but smile. "Thanks Leo, I'm so glad she has the four of you. Oh! Sam also told me she is going to visit you guys tonight, but to give her some time to get herself cleaned up since she has to wash away tons of makeup and hair product."  
"What? She gets an apartment to herself for two weeks and she's gonna come down and hangout with us?" Raph teased.  
"Well someone has to babysit her" Jay replied. "Besides, her new roommate hasn't moved in yet so she'll be lonely."  
"Oh, who's her new roommate?" Donnie asked.  
Brenda rolled her eyes. "I love her, but wow she sucks at telling you guy's new news. My brother will be moving in once we officially move all of Jay's stuff out. It's close to his university, so he's going to live with her so it's easier for him to commute to campus. Plus that way he sort of can get a taste of what it'll be like to be independent, even though the two of us and my mom still will live nearby" she chuckled.  
All four boys eyes widened some and Jay picked up on this.  
"Oh, do you four disapprove?" Jay teased.  
"Aren't they like a couple?" Raph asked.  
Jay looked down at the ground for a few seconds before looking back up and answering the question.  
"Their situation…it's a bit odd. If life had played out the way we all thought it would, then honestly yes those two would probably be a couple by now, but things didn't go according to plan. They've reconnected and are great friends again, but it's hard to say if they'll ever go back to the same type of extremely close friendship that could lead to more than that, you know?"  
Raph nodded his head. "Alright, just checking."  
Once again, Jay couldn't help but smile at this turtle, and then at all the turtles protective expressions as they nodded their heads in approval of what they had just heard.

The group continued to chat for a bit and then said their goodbyes.  
Casey drove April home, so the boys decided to head back down to the lair since there was a manhole cover in the alley where they all had been talking.  
Everyone went their separate ways and decided to kick back and relax after being in a setting of loud chatter and blaring music.  
Mikey was looking at the clock and waiting for two hours to go by. That's when it would be dark outside and he could go check up on Sam, who still had yet to come down to the lair.  
Mikey didn't bother to send a message to his brothers about where he was heading because he knew that if they were against him going to check on Sam then they would have stopped him before he had left the lair.

About 5 minutes later he was knocking on Sam's window. The blinds were closed, so he wasn't sure if she still had company over. He told himself that he would wait for 5 minutes and then would head home, but within 5 seconds the blinds opened and a smiling Sam quickly opened up the window.  
"Hey, sorry" she said through gritted teeth, showing how awkward she felt.  
Sam waved Mikey in and he carefully made his way into the familiar bedroom.  
"What are you apologizing for?" he asked cautiously.  
"Because I told Jay to tell you that I would head down to your place soon, and yet here I am still getting ready. I was so exhausted that I crashed as soon as I got home and literally just got out of the shower like 20 minutes ago."  
Mikey chuckled. "Sam, you were kicking major ass on the dance floor. A dancer NEVER apologizes for that!" he said with a smirk.  
Her playful smile then turned into a flat lined expression as her tone became more serious.  
"I also have something else to apologize for, I-"  
"NO!" Mikey said as he threw his arm out and held his hand out as to say 'stop.'  
"Do NOT apologize for not coming to see us!"  
Sam pursed her lips. "But!-"  
"HUSH CHILD! There is no need! We know you well enough to know why you didn't come up and visit us. You were having fun with your people…well, people-people! Human beings, and we get that. We also know you were embarrassed because of your attire."  
Sam's face began to turn red as she looked away when he mentioned how she was dressed.  
"Sooooooo you hungry? You can grab whatever you want from the kitchen while I finish getting everything I need."  
"How much stuff do you need for one sleepover?" Mikey asked, taking mental note as to how Sam was avoiding talking about how she was dressed for the wedding.  
Sam laughed out loud.  
"One? Oh no, you're stuck with me for 2 weeks" she said with a devilish grin.  
Mikey looked like he had just won the lottery because of how excited he was.  
"What?! Do the guys know?!"  
"Not until I tell them" Sam said with a smirk.  
"Ohhhhh it's going to be a fun two weeks my friend!" Mikey said. "Oh! How come you guys changed the dance?" he asked.  
Sam paused as she tried to understand what he was talking about, then the light bulb went off.  
"Oh! The group dance? Unfortunately the dresses we were wearing weren't flexible enough to handle the routine you and I came up with. Trust me I get why you're upset, our routine was wayyyyy more fun and intricate than the final product" she said with a pouty face.  
"Oh I'm not upset! I just thought that maybe you took other people's input and didn't want mine AND THAT'S FINE!" he announced as he saw Sam turn towards him defensively as if she was about to start rambling on about how that wasn't true.  
"But I would never do that to you" Sam said softly. "So it's not fine. Trust me if I had more of a say than everyone would have been doing our routine. Although, to a certain extent I'm kind of glad that I didn't dance our routine, I mean it is ours for a reason."  
Mikey was confused. "Wait, what?"  
"Well the two of us came up with the original routine. I don't think I could perfectly pull off what we came up with unless I was dancing with you" she said as her back was turned towards Mikey as she was folding some clothes into a larger overnight duffle bag.  
Mikey was glad that Sam couldn't see his face or else she would see the heartwarming smile that he was currently displaying. Something that only she and he could do together, something about that just sounded nice and made him feel very happy.  
He didn't want her to see his dorkily-happy expression, so he excused himself and thought of a reason to leave the room.  
"I'll be back in just a minute" he said as he walked out of the room and headed towards the kitchen to get some snacks.

Sam smiled as she went back to packing her bag.  
'Phew!' she thought to herself, 'I'm so glad he caught the hint and dropped the topic. I hate when guys tell me I'm beautiful only because I looked feminine for a day, and then don't compliment me like that anymore. I hate false compliments, and I'll especially hate that from him, my best friend. I just hope his brothers catch on and react the same way' she thought to herself.

Lucky for her, Sam had the best brothers any girl could ask for. They never said anything about her dress…but the oldest three did tease her about Kris. It was definitely a fun 2 weeks.

**Dear Guest on Chapter 45: I was a bit irked to hear the new movie will be a reboot since I personally feel like there was still so much that could have been added onto the 2014 and 2016 films, but I'm hoping that they put some consideration into what fans want to see and how they portray the turtles. I also hope they continue on with providing the turtles with their own unique personalities. Within every series I love seeing the difference between the turtles, and I also love how in the later series new emotions and character traits have been added onto each turtle as well. For example, 2012 cartoon Raph being every animal's best friend and Leo having extremely adorkable and funny moments which I feel is uncommon for him. I also loved their look in the 2016 film and loved how they wore clothes, I hope they keep that up, even if it's just simple black shorts which I am loving in the 2018 cartoon. **

**Dear Guest on Chapter 43: Oh trust me I would love for this story to turn into a comic book or even a chapter book. Like if this could somehow become a job for me then I would take that job on headstrong as best as I could! **

**I just wanted to address some more recent comments made by guests, because all comments mean the world to me and I want you all to know that I read everything you all have to say :) Thank you all for your support as always!**


	2. Chapter 47

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #47

***Saturday July 11****th****, 2015. 3a.m. at the lair-or so we think*  
*Theme: All Time Low-Nightmares***

****"Why…Why can't you just learn to shut up and listen?!" Sam shouted, still standing in place where she was now a few steps away from Raph. "Do you honestly think I wanted this? You think that I openly joined that shitty clan? I'd rather die than loyally join them! But you wouldn't know that because you can't keep your mouth shut!"  
Sam now slowly started walking forward towards Raph, whose shell was still stuck in the wall after she had kicked him in her rage.  
"Sam, wait-"  
"SHUT UP!" As Sam screamed out, forceful wind gusts flew out to the sides of her body. "You don't know anything, god there's still so much that you don't yet know and understand. But hey, months of getting to know someone obviously doesn't mean shit to you. Someone telling you about the most terrifying and scarring parts of their life obviously DOESN'T MEAN SHIT to you. Watching someone breakdown in front of you, open their heart to you, you saw all of that first hand, and how do you react? You degrade that person's family and call them a liar! This is why I didn't come to you guys in the first place, I knew you would react this way, ESPECIALLY YOU! I knew I made the right decision when I did and you've given me all the proof I need that I never should have trusted you EVER. You know how trapped you feel right now, that fear of not being able to control a damn thing that's about to happen to you? I've been living that way since Thursday night. Wrong, I've been living that way my entire life! You're right, my life is so fucked up that I am broken, and now you're going to know what it's like to be broken to."

Sam paused…where were the others? This was when Mikey was supposed to link arms with her and pull her back, when Leo was supposed to shove her away and then Donnie pin her neck against the wall with his bo. This was when the three prevented her from killing her brother by punching his face to mush, so where were they?  
"They're not coming" Raph mumbled.  
Sam looked up in horror as she saw Raph was now missing an eye, as if it had literally just been ripped from his face.  
Sam just stood there, covering her mouth since she sensed she was about to throw up.  
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Raph asked, as small drips of blood escaped from his lips as he spoke. "This is what you wanted. You knew that if you let me make you mad that this would happen."  
"No-" she choked out, only to continue to be cut off by the turtle in front of her who continued to look worse and worse every time she had the guts to somehow look back at him.  
"Yes, you knew Shredder was experimenting on you and yet you still took those pills to help you get out of those restraints. And then you got into an argument with me, knowing you would turn into a monster and would kill me-"  
"I NEVER MEANT TO KILL YOU!" Sam shrieked as she looked back at Raph as the tears were pouring from her eyes.  
More and more tears poured from her sockets as she saw that Raph's face was now black and blue. His face had changed color so drastically that only the green from the rest of his skin proved that his face had ever been green at all.  
"And yet you were going to. That punch, if you were lucky enough to calm yourself to only throw one, would have crushed my skull. My brain wouldn't exist anymore. You wanted to murder me." As Raph spoke his voice slowly became louder and louder.  
"I never wanted-"  
"But you were going to! You had no self-control and my life meant that little to you!"  
"It wasn't me, I needed to get away so I injected some mutagen-"  
"Knowing it would give you strength! Strength so that you could KILL ME!"  
"No! I-"  
"YOU'RE A MURDERER! YOU WANTED TO KILL AND YOU WERE GOING TO! If my brothers hadn't shown up then what do you think you were going to do Sam?!"  
At this point Raph had somehow gained the strength to remove himself from the wall and he was now walking towards Sam.  
"Raph, please-"  
"WERE WE GONNA HUG IT OUT?! I DON'T THINK SO! I knew what you wanted and you were a second away from stealing my life, the life of one of your best friends, of one of your brothers! WHAT SISTER TRIES TO KILL HER OWN FAMILY?!" Raph bellowed as his voice echoed off the walls of the dojo. That's when he marched right up to her and grabbed her by the neck. He pulled her so that her ear from her shaking head was right in front of his mouth.  
"Well, since you intended to kill me, I guess I'll have to fight back in self-defense" he whispered, and once the words escaped his bleeding lips, he slammed her face first into the ground.  
Sam was too shocked to speak as he pulled her back up, his hand still gripped onto her neck.  
Sam could feel that her nose was broken and she could taste the blood in her mouth from all different types of cuts. She was amazed that she could feel or taste anything as the air was being prevented from entering her body to allow her to breathe because of the grip around her neck.  
"How does it feel Sam? To die from having your face bashed in again and again?" Raph snarled as he repeatedly slammed Sam's face against the concrete beneath them.  
Sam then began to howl in pain. She happened to look into a piece of broken glass that just happened to be on the ground nearby and saw that her face now resembled his: her nose had been crushed, where his eye was gone that eye of hers was completely bloodshot red, there were cuts and small chunks taken from her ear lobes (matching the patches of skin scratched off along the sides of his head), her lips were cut and bloodied, and her cheeks were black, blue, and purple, besides for the rest of the red blood that coated her face. She knew that this was a symbol of what Raph would have looked like if she had succeeded in punching the shit out of him that night if she hadn't been stopped by the others.

"Stop it! I never meant for this! I never wanted this!" she wailed as she lost feeling in a majority of her body. "And yet you joined the Foot, joined them on missions, and then had the guts to defend and protect them rather than hiding yourself so that we couldn't find you! YOU'RE WEAK! YOU'RE AN IDIOT! AND WORST OF ALL, you let yourself get caught! You tried to kill me, so I'm going to make you see what happens when you attack someone with a temper they can't control."  
Sam braced herself as Raph flipped her over and was now positioning himself to slam the back of her head down onto the solid already bloodied concrete for the final time.

Sam jolted awake and was now sitting up in bed. Her breathing was ridiculously fast and she could feel the tears in her eyes and the vomit in her throat. She sprinted to the bathroom down the hall and threw up into the toilet a couple of times and then dry heaved for a couple of minutes before her body finally calmed down and allowed her to realize it was just another nightmare.

Since all her friends knew that Jay was going to be away for two weeks on his honeymoon, a bunch of Sam's female friends and their older sisters who were friends with Brenda and Jay had invited themselves to come over to the apartment earlier that night and hangout with Sam so that she wouldn't feel lonely (not realizing she had planned to spend the entire two weeks underground). This meant that she had returned home for the day and had spent the entire day in her house talking, dancing, playing games, and doing all other sorts of things with her friends. This had gone on all the way until 12:45a.m. to which the last females safely took an Uber home since multiple guests had to work the next day.  
Sam had decided to call it a night and after a quick shower she hopped into bed and decided she would join up with her friends later that day.  
She never expected that she would have yet another nightmare. She had been having nightmares ever since she lost her siblings, but they had decreased tremendously once she became friends with the turtles…but then they came back and were ten times worse after she had joined the Foot.

She had lost track of how many she had and how they involved everyone. One nightmare involved Raph and Mikey being killed at police headquarters after she had helped the two sneak in. Another nightmare involved the brothers getting hurt when they went to save Sam from Shredder after she joined the Foot and their rescue attempt had failed. One dream involved the older three blaming Sam because Mikey had taken his own life after not being able to handle Sam dying from saving him from being affected by the electronic whip that technically killed her the first time. She also had a dream where she messed up when she tricked Karai into thinking she would hurt the turtles when she froze the electric whip she had aimed at Mikey and in this case had hurt him so badly that he ended up with severe injuries afterwards. She had had a few dreams where she hurt Donnie as he helped her test her limits with her powers and she lost control. She had dreams where she hurt the brothers, and some involved the brothers hurting her. Some dreams involved one or more of the brothers harming her in order to avenge a brother that she had hurt or killed. Tonight she had had a dream about the time where she easily could have killed Raph if no one had come to intervene, and obviously this dream focused on her realizing what could have happened if she had actually killed Raph while also making her receive a taste of her own medicine from the wrath she threw at him that same night.

Once Sam's body had calmed down she quickly left the bathroom, grabbed her bag with her gear in it, and threw on a hoodie since she had been in her pajamas and hadn't been wearing a bra underneath. She then adjusted the locks and scanners in her room as he left through the balcony stairway outside her window and then entered the sewers through a manhole in the alley behind her apartment building. This was instantly what she did every time she had one of these nightmares. Whoever was most involved with her in the nightmare was always who she visited instantly. It was as if the only thing that made everything okay was actually seeing the person she thought she had harmed, or who she thought had harmed her, and confirming with them that everything had been a horrible dream and that in reality everyone was safe and okay. Of course, she always did this without telling a soul. There were multiple nights where Jay had contacted the guys in a panic because Sam wasn't home and he hadn't known that she had had a nightmare and had gone underground and visited whoever she had the nightmare about. She was also reprimanded by all her brothers since she would go visit that person involved in the nightmare regardless of whether or not it was a safe time to do so. Again, it was a little after 3.a.m. and Sam was now leaving her building and wandering the sewers alone, knowing the Foot and Purple Dragons still existed.

But this was what Sam did, every single time. She was silent (besides for her heavy breathing) as she walked at an incredibly fast pace down the sewer tunnels towards the lair. She had a tablet in her hands that she used to hack into Donnie's systems so that she could enter the lair without waking anyone.  
In record time she entered the lair and quickly turned a corner from the living room so that she was now heading towards Raph's bedroom. She had tossed her tablet onto the couch and was now booking it towards the bedroom. Usually if the door was locked she would just 'slump' her body so that it forcefully leaned on the door and made enough noise to awaken whichever brother was in the dream that time. If the door was unlocked then she would ever so slowly open it, and if the brother was sleeping then she would literally carefully climb into the bed with them and within seconds they would know what was going on.

Sam didn't have a chance for either of these things to happen since she saw that the door was open and that Raph was not in the room once she arrived. This made Sam worry that her dream was more than just a dream and that Raph was actually gone. What if everything else was a dream and she had actually killed Raph? She had no right to be here, but did the brothers even know? What if she had hurt him so much that there wasn't a body left, did they even know where Raph was? Had she hurt them? Oh god what if she didn't just unleash her wrath on Raph and she had harmed the other brothers?! What if-"

Suddenly muscular arms wrapped themselves around her. She hadn't realized her knees were buckling beneath her and that she was about to collapse into a ball on the floor until she felt the arms wrap themselves around her and help keep her standing on her feet.  
"It's okay, it's okay. He's in my room, that's where he crashed. I'll go get him, okay?"  
Sam recognized Mikey's voice and she recognized his touch as he was now gently rubbing his hands up and down her arms. The feeling made her feel more relaxed and allowed her to respond with a nod of her head.  
Mikey then gently scooped her up and carried her over towards his brother's bed where he sat her down. He kneeled down in front of the girl who had brought her knees up to her chest and had wrapped her arms tightly around her knees. He saw the redness in her eyes and could tell that this had been a really bad nightmare.  
"I'm gonna go get him, so don't leave okay? He's fine I promise. Breathe with me" he said as he put his hands on both of the girl's cheeks and took slow breaths and continued to do so until her breathing matched his.

Mikey then eased his way out of the room, never taking his eyes off of Sam until he literally couldn't see her anymore, and seconds later Raph had walked into the room.  
He quickly made his way over to the bed and threw his arms around the girl who was already beginning to cry again.  
"Whatever I did or whatever you did, we're both okay. We're healthy and we're safe, no one is hurt or in danger I promise" he reassured her as he kept his arms wrapped around her.  
He hated to hear her cry, and it broke him even more when he saw her cry, but he knew that when she was like this she needed someone to take care of her. Sam was one of the toughest people he had ever met, but there were still times where she was weak and needed others in order to get by. This was one of those times.

The two just sat there for a few minutes as the girl released her tears as she cried into his shoulder. Raph just sat there and did the regular things that got Sam to calm down: he ran his hand up and down her back, he ran his fingers through her hair. Sam had made it clear to all the brothers that she was a touchy feely person even if not necessarily in a romantic way.  
Once a few minutes had passed and Sam had calmed down Raph leaned back and looked her in the eye. This was usually the signal that he was ready to listen to whatever it was that had happened.  
Sam took a long breath, and struggled in doing so, before she finally spoke.  
"I had the dream where I almost killed you again" she whimpered.  
Raph sighed and ran his hand down his face.  
"Man, again? Was it the same as last time where you beat me to a pulp and then faced my brothers afterwards?" he asked in a guilty manner, hating himself for even leading Sam to have these past experiences that now lead her to having these nightmares.  
"No actually. This one was different" she said as she timidly looked up at him. "This time it was you who ridiculed me. Your face became more and more deformed as you verbally and then physically fought back."  
Raph looked as if he had seen a ghost. This was a new nightmare scenario indeed. Usually when Sam had this nightmare she had already killed Raph and she was either tortured with the realization of the monster she almost became, or she faced the emotional and physical fights from his brothers as they avenged their brother by attacking his killer, but this time it was him who had harmed Sam in the nightmare.  
"Did…did I do something that made the dream change?" he asked as he looked more to his left and down at the bed.  
Sam rapidly shook her head. "Of course not. I talked to a therapist about this once and he told me that sometimes when similar nightmares change it's because of alternate scenarios that could have happened. I guess this time my mind wondered how you would have reacted if I had paused. I guess my mind assumed you would have resumed to defending yourself and would have killed me since I had intended to kill you…wait, I mean!-"  
"I know what you meant Sam. The mutagen kicked in and made you go haywire after I set you off. You never meant to hurt me, you just lost control because of me."  
Sam could tell by the look in his eye that he regretted every scene that was replaying itself in his head. Man she wished she could take back everything that had happened that night not even a full year ago.

She gently held onto Raph's right arm. He looked up at her, the shame in his thoughts displayed on his face.  
"Hey, we both wish we could go back and fix what happened. But it's okay now. Just like you said, we're both healthy and we're both safe. Everything worked out and everything is back to normal again. Everything was out of context and we both made mistakes, but we've grown and learned from them. These nightmares aren't your fault" she said in a soothing tone.  
The girl's words were helpful, but there were still dark thoughts in the turtles mind.  
"Do you ever wonder what life would be like now? If one of those bad scenarios actually happened?" he asked shyly.  
Sam sighed and flopped back onto the bed. "All the time. I wonder what would have happened if I had actually killed you. I know I never would forgive myself. I know your brothers would shun me, and I wouldn't blame them-"  
"Stop" Raph said rather harshly, although he hadn't intended to sound that way.  
Sam paused and pursed her lips together and kept them shut.  
"Just…I wonder the same thing" Raph mumbled, continuing to look everywhere but at her, but that was before Sam shot up and made him look at her.  
"What are you talking about?" she asked.  
Raph sighed. "You could have died if something had gone wrong while you were with the Foot, and I'm the main reason we didn't help you. I pushed you over your limits because I had to be an ass about not fully trusting you and then what do we learn? You've been covering for us the whole damn time."  
Sam now realized that as Raph talked through gritted teeth he was also clenching his fists together. She looked up at him with gentle eyes only to see that he had reverted back to looking away from her. Sensing the tension in the air, Sam leaned over and rested her head on the turtles shoulder.  
"You can't keep thinking that way. I know I need to stop thinking this way as well. It's these thoughts that keep making us have these nightmares" she muttered.  
She felt an arm wrap around her.  
"I know, but I can't just ignore how I acted and I can't just ignore what could have happened if things didn't turn out as lucky for us as they did."  
"Well then don't forget what happened, but keep thinking about how to make up for it" Sam said as she sat back up and looked him in the eyes. "Next time I act all sketchy, now you know to trust me no matter what. And you also know that no matter what situation I'm in that I'll always have your back, same for the others."  
This finally got Raph to smile. "Yeah, and I know from now on that you'll never go behind our backs. Unless it's a prank war that is" he said with a smirk.  
Sam shrugged. "Everyone is each other's enemies when the prank wars begin my friend. No one can ever be trusted during those times." She was happy to see that Raph was feeling better as he chuckled from her comment. Sam rocked herself forward and then stood up in front of him. "So, you ready for the next part of getting past nightmares?" she asked as she held her hand in front of her for him to take.

When Sam went to talk to whichever brother was involved in the nightmare, a new tradition had come about within each pairing. She and Leo would always go meditate and would then discuss the nightmare while drinking tea in his room. Donnie, being the speed demon that he was, loved to run out his emotions with Sam before the two officially found a spot to cool down and talk things out. Mikey and Raph handled things the opposite way. Mikey needed to talk things out and then needed to complete a fun activity with his partner in crime afterwards to prove that everything was okay. Raph also needed to talk things out before he could do anything else, and afterwards, he needed to complete some type of physical activity. Usually the two would work out in the dojo, but sometimes they completed more leisurely activities as well. Tonight Raph was more interested in using the batting cages in the secret hangout that Mikey and Sam had prepared which was now a huge underground fun house.

Raph looked up at Sam before taking her hand.  
"Before we end this conversation, you know I would never hurt you, right? Putting the past in the past, nothing like that will ever happen again and I'll never treat you like I did. You know that, right?" he asked cautiously.  
Sam brought her hand back to her side. "I know that as long as you know I'll never do anything to betray you guys ever again, and I swear I'll never hurt any of you guys either. The past is the past, and nothing from the past will ever repeat itself."  
Raph nodded with a small smirk.  
"In that case, race you to the batting cages!" he announced as he quickly lunged forward, scooped Sam up, and tossed her onto his bed as he then ran out the door.  
"Mikey let's go!" Raph called, knowing that his youngest brother would still be awake, and this was proven correct as a hyper Michelangelo dashed through the hallways and was now silently tailing his brother.  
Sam sat up as quick as she could and tried to catch up to the others as fast as she could. The whole time she was laughing and having fun with her brothers she continued to remind herself that she would NEVER let the past repeat itself ever again. Her life was perfect and she would never allow anything to ever change that.

**Alright, so just a heads up for future chapters, there are going to be some time skips that occur. Not like the characters will now jump to 5 years later or anything, but overall things might start skipping by so many months so that certain events I have planned for the future can occur. I'm actually reaching a good halfway point to many of the events I have planned so far for this series.**

**Also a warning, I start my teaching internship for my Fall semester next Wednesday, so unfortunately it's back to when this series might go on momentary hiatus :/ I hate having to say that, but I know that once the semester starts I will be lucky if I produce one additional chapter throughout the rest of the season. **

**But as always, I will share that this story is far from over and I still have a WHOLE lot more in store. So if you are willing to be patient then I promise that in due time this story will return :3**

**Also! If you're interested in reading anything else I'm working on I currently have a mini series running on Tumblr known as "TMNT In The Oasis." I FINALLY saw Ready Player One and had these ideas and when I searched them online I didn't see many others posting about it, so I decided to do so. It's nowhere near as elaborate as this story is, but it's a fun little idea I had stuck in my head and so I decided to type it up on my Tumblr app during free time. Once I have more of it completed I might add it on this site as well :) **


	3. Chapter 48

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #48

***Sunday February 14****th**** 2016, Jay's new apartment***

****Months had passed and so much had changed in such a short amount of time. Sam was now living with Kris as they shared her apartment together. She still lived in her room while Kris now took over Jay's old room. Because of this, the turtles had become a bit closer to Kris, although for his safety they still did not want him visiting the lair. They had all come to trust Kris and believed that he would be a good match for Sam and at this point were just waiting for the news that the two were officially dating.

They wondered if today would finally be the day since tonight there would be tons of moments of cuteness since Brenda and Jay were bringing home their baby and their adopted daughter. Only immediate family knew that Brenda was already pregnant by a couples of months during their wedding. Some would say the two were insane for having children so soon, but with the crazy life the two had lived already, they just wanted to continue moving forward before it was too late. Their dark pasts also made them realize that there were many children in this world who were raised in unfortunate circumstances and they wanted to help in their own way, which lead them to adopt around the same time that they were having their own child. Tonight was the night that not only were they giving birth to their son, but also the day they were earning the right to adopt their 4 year old daughter. It wasn't supposed to happen all on the same day, but somehow that's how it happened. Luckily the social worker met with Jay and Brenda at the hospital where Jay signed all the final papers and was now holding his daughter after standing by his wife who had given birth to their son.  
Irma was there and so was Kris. Sam on the other hand was still at her brother's apartment (which she was totally jealous of because it was so much more spacious than hers!) and was with the turtles as they finished helping baby proof the house.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be here? Is it safe to have babies be near us?" Raph asked cautiously.  
Sam rolled her eyes. "For the thousandth time Raph, yes! You guys have been washing up and disinfecting everything on all of you. Jay and Brenda want you guys to be a part of their kids' lives so they've taken every precaution to make sure that happens" she said as she was currently putting locks on cabinet doors throughout the living room.  
"Ohhhhhhh GUYS WE'RE GONNA SEE A BABY!" Mikey shouted, also for the thousandth time.  
"Gates are all set" Leo announced as he walked back into the room and away from the stairs that lead up to the next level of the apartment.  
"Thank you sir. And here's your reward" Sam teased as she tossed Leo a green tea flavored juice box, which he was more than happy to receive as thanks for his hard work.  
"How are the monitors coming along Donnie?" Sam shouted upstairs.  
"Almost done!" he called back.  
"I can't wait to see his chubby little cheeks! And oh my gosh do you think he will have hair?!" Mikey gushed as he then flopped back onto the couch.  
"Make sure you don't ask so many questions that Brenda loses her shit. Like let her be with her child before you go snatching him away" Sam teased as she walked over and sat next to her best friend.  
"Oh I'd never do that! It's important that the baby spends quality time bonding with its mother. I'll always respect that" he said with a confident smile.  
"Tch, since when do you know so much about babies?" Raph scoffed.  
"Since I've been researching about them ever since we were told Brenda was going to have one. At least I'm interested and care about meeting the little guy and the young lady that will be joining us soon" Mikey said matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms.  
"Of course I care to you dweeb" Raph huffed as he glared over at his brother.  
"Uh, no offense big guy but your body language definitely says otherwise" Sam said gently. "What's got you so worked up?"  
Raph eyed her carefully as if to test that she wasn't setting him up to mess with him.  
He looked away and pouted as he muttered "I just don't wanna break em."  
Sam let out a breath and smiled.  
"Raph you dork, you're not gonna break the kids."  
"What if I get nervous and drop em?" he asked louder and more intensely than he intended.  
"We'll be right beside you Raph, we'll make sure nothing happens to the kids" Mikey reassured in an uncharacteristically mature manner.  
"Will they scream?" Raph asked cautiously.  
Sam shrugged. "They might, this will all be knew for both kids in their own ways. One will be seeing mutants for the first time in her life, the other will barely be able to see anything because he'll still be getting used to opening his eyes at all. We can't predict how they'll react, but it also depends on how you react to them. You just have to be gentle. Besides, I think the little girl will love you guys. I haven't had a chance to meet her yet, but Jay says she's different in the most beautiful and special ways possible."  
"Guys, I saw them from the window upstairs. They're here!" Donnie called as he and Leo were now making their way into the living room.  
Sam could sense how truly tense Raph was now as he continued to clench and unclench his hands. She gently lay her hand along his arm.  
"Hey, everything is going to be okay. You're gonna be a great uncle and they're both gonna love you" she reassured.  
Raph nodded and then looked over to see how his other brothers were handling the situation. He was shocked beyond belief at how calm and collected Leo and Donnie were as they both sat their patiently with smiles on their faces.  
"How are you both so calm?!" Raph blurted out.  
They both turned towards their brother and for the first time realized how stressed he was.  
"Raph, you okay?" Donnie asked as he walked over and sat in the open space at his brothers left on the couch (Sam was sitting towards Raph's right side).  
"I'm just afraid I'll hurt them somehow. What if they're scared of me? What if I yell and I scare them?" he began to say, his voice sounding more and more panicked as more words began spilling out.

Before anyone could even say anything else to calm him down, the door opened.  
Everyone froze and sat completely still on the couch as Jay slowly and carefully entered the room. Eyes went wide as they saw the carrier in his left hand and the little black bushy bundle at the top of it.  
"*Gasp* he does have hair" Mikey somehow squealed into a whisper.  
Behind Jay was Kris who was wheeling his older sister into the room in a wheelchair. Behind them was Irma who was holding hands with her new granddaughter who walked in calmly with a blank expression, that is, until she saw the four giant mutants sitting on the couch and her mouth gapped open.  
Kris wheeled Brenda all the way over to the couch so that each brother could stand up and gently give her a hug.  
"Everything went well?" Leo asked with a smile.  
Brenda groggily nodded her head. "They said I was a text book pregnancy. Everything went perfect. I'm just super tired" she stated as Jay was now massaging her shoulders.  
Mikey was the next to speak.  
"Okay I promise I won't take the baby away, but pleaseeeeeeeeee can I see more of him?" he whined.  
The new parents laughed as Jay took the carrier (which had been held by Kris while Jay was pampering his exhausted wife) and now moved it closer towards where the boys and Sam were sitting on the couch.  
Donnie was seated on the far right, then Raph, Sam, Mikey, and Leo on the far left. Everyone in the group was now leaning forward and gawking at the most adorable thing they had ever seen.  
"Family, say hi to Keno. Keno, say hi to the family" Jay said with a beaming smile.

The baby had dark brown eyes and a rather large amount of black hair for a newborn. His hair was thin and a bit puffed out at the moment which only intensified how adorable he already was. He then yawned and exposed his toothless gums. The group then looked over every inch of that baby just for the simple fact that every single detail about him was just so freaking tiny!  
Jay turned to get reassurance from his wife and then looked at the youngest of the brothers.  
"Mikey, would you like to hold him?" Jay asked.  
Mikey's head shot right up as he stared at Jay.  
"You really mean it?"  
"Of course" Jay said with a smile.  
Mikey responded by extending his arms in front of his body as a signal that he was already prepared to hold the baby. "I've already sanitized and everything" he reassured.  
Jay then carefully unhooked the straps from the carrier and picked up the almost weightless being. He taught Mikey how to cradle the baby while making sure his head was supported in the bent part of his arm.  
Mikey caught on quick and as he held that little bundle of joy, it looked as if he had been a parenting pro for years.  
"Wow, you're a natural" Brenda teased.  
Mikey looked up at her and smiled as he continued to cradle the baby in his arms. "I've always loved kids. It amazes me that there's people in this world that hate them. I mean how can you hate someone who is so darn cute!" he said as he now held Keno so that his and the babies noses were touching.  
"Do we get a turn?" Leo asked.  
"Awwww already?" Mikey whined, to which Sam gently nudged him.  
"Share the child! Don't worry, he's going to be here for a long time. You'll have plenty of times to hold him. I'll even let you change his diaper" Sam teased, not expecting Mikey to actually feel excited to complete such an 'honoring' task.

Jay was now gently picking up his son and was now coaching the leader in blue on how to correctly hold the baby.  
While Leo was learning how to handle the infant, Irma was now walking the second newest child to the family up to the turtles.  
"Guys, this is Renet. She's four years old, she loves animals, she loves to dance, and she has an awesome 'friend' (she said while using her fingers as quotes where the child couldn't see) named Rachel."  
This left the group a bit more stunned. Keno was literally seeing images and colors for the first time and would grow up being taught to keep the guys secret and would grow up learning to accept the green beings for who they were, but Renet was already 4 years old. She was old enough to judge and she was still a bit young to understand the concept of keeping secrets and she was way too young to understand the dangers and consequences of her telling others about the turtle's existence.

The young girl stood there and looked at them, un-phased and calm. She was so nonchalant as if she had seen all the turtles before.  
Of course, Mikey was the first one to speak to her.  
"Well hi! My name is Michelangelo, but you're a lady so you can call me Mikey" he said with a beaming smile.  
To his amusement, this got the girl to smile.  
"My name is Leo, nice to meet you" Leo stated formally (as always).  
"My name is Donnie" the nerdy turtle said with a small wave and a nervous smile on his face.  
Raph just stared at the child with wide eyes, too nervous to speak. His breathing, while silent, had definitely become more rapid as his chest moved in and out in large movements.  
The young girl's smile had faded.  
"You don't like me" she stated bluntly.  
Instantly his eyes grew wide.  
"What?" he asked.  
"The others were smiling, but you're not. So you must not like me."  
Raph rapidly shook his head.  
"No. No-no. That's not it. I uh, I just don't wanna scare you" he said nervously.  
Everyone in the room was now looking towards Raph with sympathetic looks as they now saw how worried the tough turtle truly was that his appearance would scare away the young girl, and it was evident how hurt he would be if he did indeed scare this child.  
Renet however just titled her head in curiosity.  
"Why would I be scared of you?" she asked. She then walked up to Raph and pointed to the cut on his lip. "Is it because of this? You get into a lot of fights, don't you?" she asked in a very straightforward manner.  
Mikey and Sam began to snicker. "I like her" Sam stated.  
The child then looked at her (meanwhile Keno was now being brought over towards Donnie to hold). "Who are you?" Renet asked as she looked at Sam.  
"I'm Sam, I'm your aunt. I'm Jay's younger sister" she said with a heartwarming smile.  
Renet looked confused as she looked at Sam's hands and then looked down at her own, wondering how her new father could be related to this woman when they were not even the same color.  
"Oh no I'm not the same race as you and your parents. Jay was my adopted brother, and then I technically became his adopted sister. Don't worry, in time you will learn allllllll about everyone in this crazy families past, especially because you're a major part of this families future."  
This once again brought back a huge smile to the young child's face.  
"So this is my family? All these people?" she asked as she looked around the room at the turtles, her aunt, her parents, her Grammy Irma, and her uncle Kris.

"Sorry we're late" April stated as she and Casey were now entering the room.  
"Now everyone in your family is here. Oh! Except for Sensei, but you'll meet him eventually" Jay stated. "But yes, this is your new family" he said as she placed a hand on the girls back.  
Renet then looked up at him.  
"Forever?" she asked timidly.  
The look in the girl's eyes literally broke the soul of everyone in that room. She was so innocent, but the fact that she needed to ask that proved how scared she truly was. Each of them wondered what she had experienced so far in her short life that already scared her so much and made her fear that she would not actually get to live with this group for the rest of her life.  
Jay then wrapped his arms around the young girl and gave her a big hug.  
"Forever and always. You are my daughter, and nothing will ever change that." He then backed away and nodded his head towards everyone else in the room.  
"And that goes for all of these people as well. Every single one of them will love you for the rest of your life."  
Renet looked around the room and what convinced her the most that this was true was that she saw everyone in that room smiling down at her, even Raphael.

***Later that night around 8p.m. Still at Jay's apartment* **

****"Goodnight Renet" all four of the brothers said at the same time. April and Casey also came in and said goodnight, then grammy Irma and uncle Kris, then aunt Sam and Mikey who just needed to see that little sweetheart once more before he left, and then finally mom and dad.  
"So, what do you think of your family so far?" Brenda asked.  
"They're awesome! This is the coolest family ever!" Renet exclaimed as she threw her hands up in joy.  
"Now remember," Jay began as he rubbed his hand along the girl's leg over top her blanket, "you cannot tell ANYONE about your turtle uncles. I can't explain yet because you're still very young, but they could get hurt if you tell anyone about them. Got it?"  
"Got it" Renet said with huge nods of her head.  
"Alright sweetie, goodnight" Jay said as he leaned forward and kissed the girl on her forehead.  
"We love you so much" Brenda said as she leaned forward and did the same thing.  
The two then left the room and turned out the light, leaving their daughter alone to fall asleep in her new bedroom.

About 5 minutes later, a small light came on and a woman appeared.  
She stood dressed in black, like a ninja, and she had long black hair that had been put up into a bun.  
"Hey" she said with a huge smile, "how did your first day with the new family go?" the woman asked in a whisper.  
"Rachel" Renet said, making sure to whisper as well, "today was awesome. I love all of them already. Are you sure they're never gonna leave me? What if I make them mad, especially the red one" Renet asked rather timidly.  
Rachel shook her head. "Sweetie, look at me" she said as she brought Renet's face up so that the two female's eyes were connected. "Everyone you met today, and I mean EVERYONE you met today, is going to love you to pieces for the rest of your life. Every single one of them" she stated reassuringly.  
Renet still seemed unsure. "But, what if I make them mad or something? Will they still want me then?" she asked.  
"Yes, and do you want to know why?" the older woman asked with a smile.  
Renet nodded her head.  
"Even when you make them mad they will still want you because that's what real families do. Whether they are happy, sad, mad, hungry, whatever they feel, a true family sticks together and finds ways to work things out no matter what. And soon enough you will see how strong this family is. I promised you that you would be placed in the perfect home and I still believe that this is the most perfect family for you." The woman held her hand on the girls shoulder and gently rubbed this spot. "Trust me, you're going to love it here. You're going to love this family as much as they already love you."

Renet sighed, but continued to smile.  
"I can't wait to see what my new life is going to be like" she said, gently kicking her legs underneath the blankets. "Oh" Renet said as she now looked back up at the woman curiously.  
"I saw Aunt Sam and Uncle Kris today and I already love both of them. Grammy Irma is super sweet, and even Ms. April and Mr. Casey are nice and fun to. The only person I didn't meet that you told me about is Sensei Splinter, but dad says that once they find a perfect time for him to come up to the surface then I will finally meet him. I noticed a lot of the things that you told me about, like how weird Aunt Sam is with her turtle brothers, how dad is so sweet to mom, how Grammy Irma treats Ms. April as if she was her own daughter."  
"Did you notice what I told you about the turtles as well?" the woman asked with a huge smile on her face.  
Renet displayed a beaming smile as she nodded her head forward.  
"I did. Leo was super serious so I didn't see his silly side yet. Donnie was nervous so I didn't see his sillies either. Mikey was nothing but silly" the girl said with a giggle, "but Raph was weird. You said he would be nice, but he looked kinda scary" the girl said as she brought her blanket up towards her face.  
The woman shook her head. "He looks that way sometimes, but I swear on my life that he is a big softie. You'll learn in time that he's very protective and sweet and caring and that he can get very upset and emotional very easily. I can't tell you when you will see these sides of him, but I promise you will see these sides of him" she stated reassuringly.  
Renet nodded. "Oh, I saw the guy you said would be Aunt Sam's husband…but they don't look like they like each other at all" Renet stated. "Are you sure that's the guy she's gonna marry? Maybe you got the names mixed up when you told me. I mean they obviously care about each other like brother and sister like you said, but she acted the same way she did with all the other turtles as well."  
The older woman shook her head. "Nope, I swear on my life again that he's the one. It may not seem like it for a while, but eventually in due time, he will be the one" she said while slowly nodding her head.  
The young girl shrugged. "Mkay, if you say so. I guess that means you still can't tell me about who all the other brothers are going to marry either?" the girl pouted.  
The woman roughed Renet's hair with a sigh. "Sorry kiddo, I can only tell you so much at a time. If I tell you too much then it could alter the future, and trust me, you do not want that to happen."  
"Will I still get to see you now that I have a new family?" she asked, a saddened expression on her face.  
The older woman lightly chuckled. "Well of course sweetie. It's going to be a bit more difficult for us to meet each other, but you will definitely see much more of me for a long while. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone either" the woman said as she put her hand out for a pinky promise.  
Renet happily completed the hand gesture, and the two parted ways so that Renet could peacefully drift off to sleep.

***8:05 in the nursery at Jay's new apartment***

****"Awww can't I say goodnight to him one more time?" Mikey whined.  
"Come on big guy, leave the baby alone so he can spend some time with his dad" Sam teased as she lightly pulled back on her best friends arm.  
"Oh! That's true. *Sigh* okay. Goodnight Keno, I miss you already" Mikey said softly as he was playfully pulled downstairs and away from the nursery.  
Raph, the last person who was still upstairs with Jay, shook his head as he watched his youngest brother get dragged down the stairs.  
"If he ever makes your life more stressful then let me know and I'll teach him to behave" Raph stressed to the new father, "especially now that you have two kids to take care of, and from what my dad has told me, that ain't easy."  
Jay chuckled. "Thanks, but don't worry. Brenda and I are both brand new to this so we'll need all the help we can get. And it's clear Mikey will be more than eager in wanting to help us take care of them. And it's clear that Renet has already taken a liking to him, towards all of you actually" he said as he gently rocked his sleeping son in his arms.  
Raph pursed his lips and rubbed his hand behind his head. "I don't know, I feel like she didn't like me all that much. She does like the others though" Raph stated timidly.  
Jay instantly began shaking his head,  
"Nope, it was clear she became attached towards all of you, that's why she kept staring back at you. She wants you to like her and I'd bet money that she hopes she'll be able to make you like her. We're still learning about her past, but apparently she's been lonely and never had a real family, so the social worker said she's going to 'work hard to make us like her.' But that just means that even when we're mad or sad, we need to make it clear how much we care about her. That's all you need to do and she will be as attached to you as she is to everyone else. Just get to know her Raph, and she will cling to you more and more" Jay reassured with a huge smile.

Raph smiled in return. "I hope so. She does seem like a great kid. She's different though. I can't explain it, but she is. She's still silly and energetic like a 4 year old, but she can also be…very calm and realistic. Like there were times where she was having more adult conversations, you know?"  
Jay nodded as he now began to walk into the nursery and lay his son down in his crib.  
"Yeah, but we knew that she was different going into the adoption, and that's one of the main reasons we chose to adopt her. We felt like her already being a unique kid meant that she would fit in perfectly with a family like…ours…"  
Jay's voice trailed off as he turned around and realized that Raph had stopped following him at the doorway to the nursery. He watched as Raph just looked around the room with a mix of curiosity and sadness.  
"Raph?" he asked, "You okay?"  
Raph now stopped and stared at Jay, realizing he had been caught in a daze that he himself had not realized he was in.  
"Uh, yeah. I'm all good" he attempted to play off, but Jay knew better, and Raph could tell this by his face.  
"I will literally trap you in here if you don't spill what is on your mind" the man said with his arms crossed.  
Raph sighed in defeat. "Fine" he huffed, "but you can't judge me, and you have to promise that it won't change anything about how you view me. Okay?"  
Jay displayed a much more serious expression. "I understand."  
Raph sighed once more. "It's just…I don't know. I guess I'm a bit jealous that you get all this" he said as he waved his hand to point to the room as a whole.  
"What do you mean?" Jay questioned.  
"That you get to have kids, both literally having your own kid and even adopting someone who needs a home. None of us talk about it, but we would give anything to be able to do all that one day. Before we met April and Sam, the thought of even seeing a baby up close in person was something we would laugh at because we knew it would never happen, so I guess standing here with a baby in front of me…it's a lot to take in" he stated.  
Jay displayed a look of guilt. "We wanted you guys to meet the kids because we wanted you in their lives, since your mine and Sam's family, so of course that means you guys will be part of theirs as well. And we thought you guys would be happy to meet them…but we never considered that. Raph I'm-"  
"Don't even say it" Raph somehow said strictly while still whispering. "Do not apologize for bringing us the joy of getting to grow up around kids. Yes I personally have some issues I have to deal with, but I'd rather get to grow up with these kids and watch them grow up themselves rather than never get to be around kids at all. And if you tell anyone I told you any of this mushy stuff then Jay I swear to god-"  
"I know, I know tough guy" Jay said as we waved Raph away, "I would never tell anyone. I'm your brother to now, remember? I've got your back. And I appreciate you being honest with me" he said. "If there's ever anything that makes you uncomfortable or hurt or whatever in regards to the kids, please let me know. I want them to bring you nothing but happiness, but if you feel anything but that then I want to help you out, okay?"  
Raph nodded. "Okay. Thanks for looking out bro" he said as he lightly nudged the man's shoulder.  
"Alright, now let's quietly head downstairs. I don't want to wake him so soon, especially since he'll have to wake up in just a few more hours for his next bottle."  
The two then began to slowly exit the room as Jay shut the door slowly and silently behind them.  
"Wait, so you have to feed him in the middle of the night?" Raph asked.  
"Oh yeah, they need to be fed based on a certain schedule, not based on day and night meals. Hehe, welcome to parenthood my friend. You have a lot to learn."

**I DID IT AGAIN! Which turtle do you think it will be now? Are your guesses still the same? Have they changed? Apparently little Renet knows something that the rest of you don't.  
Hope you're enjoying the story! There are some events coming up that are going to start making it more and more clear who Sam will end up with, but there is also some more fun and adorable family moments coming up as well. I can't wait until I can finally share them all with you readers :D **


	4. Chapter 49

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #49

***Sunday March 13, 2016. At the lair ***

****"Alright do we have everything?!" Sam called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth.  
Donnie and Leo pushed one final time and slammed down the trunk to the turtle van they had recently acquired, finally getting the trunk to stay shut after packing up everyone's luggage inside.  
"We better" Donnie huffed.  
Jay walked up carrying Renet. "Our car is all packed. We're waiting outside. Is Renet's seat ready?"  
He then turned in time to see Mikey open the door to the turtle truck and hop out with a huge smile on his face.  
"The ladies car seat is all ready to go" he said as he bowed in front of the child being carried by her father.  
Jay could tell that Mikey had been waiting to hold the child, so he carefully handed her off to him (Renet of course had her arms wide open and was waiting for the large turtle to take her away already).  
"That's precious cargo you're strapping into that seat! You better take good care of her!" Jay called out, sternly pointing his finger at the turtle who was giggling at the threats being shouted at him.  
"Oh come on Jay, you know how much I love this little nugget, you really think I would allow anything to happen to her little 4 year old self?" Mikey stated as he snuggled his chin against the top of Renet's head.  
She then did her little wriggle that meant that she wanted to be placed on the ground. Mikey obliged to the girls request and carefully placed her so that she was standing on the floor of the truck. Renet then hopped down with a smile and ran over and hugged her father one final time. She then looked up at him with her big brown eyes.  
"Don't worry daddy, Uncle Mikey will take care of me. Plus he'll have the others to help him! Remember?" she said as she pointed to the crowd of people getting ready to board the truck.

Jay sighed as he bent down and gave his daughter a long and tight hug.  
"I wish I had your optimism" he said as she stood back up  
"Wait, wait! I need one to!" Brenda exclaimed as Irma quickly took Keeno so that Brenda could run over and give her daughter a big hug. Renet extended her arms as her mother scooped her up, spun her around once, and planted a huge kiss to her cheek.  
"If you need ANYTHING then tell one of your aunts or uncles to call us, okay?"  
Renet looked up at her mother as she was now being placed back on the ground.  
"Moooooom, I just gave this speech to dad!"  
"Oh I know," the woman said as she ruffled her daughter's hair, "but your safety will always be on my mind for the rest of forever. It's not my fault, I can't stop worrying even if I wanted to."  
"Exactly!" Jay added, "That's why we're bringing this one in our car with us!" he said as he was now pointing fiercely at Leo.  
Brenda raised a brow as she now held her son once again and was now placing him in his carrier.  
"Really? That's what you're going with as your reason for bringing your turtle clone in the car with us?" she teased.  
"Hey, Kris likes him to!"  
"Well I guess the rest of us are chopped liver then" Raph teased as he nudged the man's shoulder as he walked past him towards the vehicle he would be traveling in.  
"Oh I would have loved for you to ride with us, but Casey made it known how much he wanted you with him" Jay said as she slammed his hands down on Casey's shoulders.  
Casey looked up with a 'wtf' face as he threw his arms out in front of him.  
"Okay, we all have bromance here, why are we trying to make it weird?"  
"Maybe because the guys chose each other before choosing women" April said as she crossed her arms in front of her.  
"No, no-no! You chose HIM-" Casey stated as he pointed towards Donnie, "over me. You knew I was chosen to drive the truck for the first shift and you chose to go in the SUV."  
"Hey! What's wrong with the SUV?!" Jay exclaimed.  
"I'm not in it!" Casey shouted back.  
"Well Irma and Vern said they both fall asleep quickly on long car rides and neither of them have driven down to Jersey anyway. I wasn't going to leave Donnie all by himself. Family has to have each other's backs."  
"Awwww thanks April" Donnie said as he walked past her towards the SUV, the third vehicle parked in the work space where the turtle truck and van were currently being held.  
"Does everyone have everything?!" Sam shouted as she threw her final bag in the back of the SUV.  
Everyone in the group looked around at each other and nodded. Each person loaded them self into their seat (making sure the two children were safely secure before doing anything else) and everyone was off.

Cousins on their father's side, Jack and Jayden Kurtzman, and then Jack's cousin on his mother's side, Ashton Amante, were all detectives of some kind. The three grew up as if they were brothers by blood rather than just friendly cousins, and each had supported each other all their lives. They also had family that had been affected by the Foot. So when Jack's sister Ashley Kurtzman (also Jayden's youngest cousin) and Ashton's sister Jillian Amante were rescued by the turtles in September of 2014 the group of three wanted to thank the group in any way they could.  
It was difficult for them to do so since Leo refused Sam from letting them contact anyone outside of their human family for the longest time, but now that he was slowly giving humanity more of a chance, he decided to hear them out on their offer.  
The three men owned a rather large property near Wildwood New Jersey. The property was located in Lower Township New Jersey where it wasn't too close to the coast guard and also wasn't too far away from Ocean Drive which would lead them into town to buy any needed supplies, but it was also just far enough away where the turtles could run out into the ocean without being seen by anyone.  
The Kurtzman and Amante men offered to let the turtles and any additional loved ones stay on the property for any week of their choosing since the property was used as a vacation home for destressing and escaping from their busy lives, and finally the turtles were taking advantage of this gracious offer.

There would be nobody entering the massive household except for the turtles and their group for the entire week that they chose (and of course they chose the week that Sam and Kris were both on spring break from their universities).  
Those that were heading down were the four brothers, their father, Sam, Jay, Brenda, Renet, Keeno, Kris, Irma, April, Casey, and Vern (they weren't exactly thrilled to bring him, but they would be liars to say he didn't help them when they needed it, and a little bird also told them that Irma for whatever reason had always had a slight crush on Vern, and he was also April's friend and co-worker for years now).  
The group also wasn't sure about bringing Kris or Irma, but after discussing it they had realized that the brothers and Sensei had seen ten times more of these two humans now that Jay and Brenda were married and had their children, so Irma and Kris were now officially part of the human family.

The driving situation had been difficult to figure out at first since there were 15 people going total.  
Casey had offered to be a main driver and had been elected to drive the turtle truck with Raph nearby. Raph and Mikey had finally proven they could drive the vehicle and were placed with Casey in case he needed a break from driving. Sam and Splinter had also joined this group because even with the luggage there was more room to move in the truck than in any other vehicle. This also allowed more room for a car seat which meant that Renet had more room to feel comfortable as well.

Leo (who also had been given permission by Donnie to have a license, though this was much sooner than Raph and Mikey) was the driver of the turtle van, a vehicle that Jay and Casey had purchased rather cheap and Donnie decked it out to look like a brand new car. This vehicle was used more for convenience and for stealth and secrecy, whereas the truck was used for actual battle (but of course, Donnie had altered the look so that it would seem like a regular truck for this particular trip). Kris was the passenger in this vehicle, along with the new parents and their close to two month old baby strapped in-between them as they all sat in the second row of the van.

Then, in Jay and Brenda's new SUV, Donnie was the first driver (which he felt more comfortable sitting in this car than he thought he would). He had April as his passenger with Irma and Vern sitting behind them. Everyone was now ready and situated for the almost 3 hour long drive, and everyone was excited to go on vacation. The humans were all excited for an opportunity to escape from their busy lives. The mutants, however, were excited to see a part of the world that they never thought they would get to experience (outside of missions where they could risk their lives, like in Brazil, of course).

They weren't sure if it would be safe to leave the city, but with Shredder and Kraang gone, and with Bebop and Rocksteady currently locked away, and with not a hint of Karai or Hun's presence, the group decided it would be okay to leave the city for a week and to experience their first full family vacation.

It was about 6 in the morning (somehow everyone's adrenaline, or caffeine, had helped them stay awake until now) so that the group could beat the morning traffic as best as possible. Plus, the earlier they left, the quicker they could reach their destination and enjoy the beach scenery and vacation life for their weeklong vacation. The trip was a little under 3 hours long, and that would only be if the traffic didn't hold them up for too long on the way down there, so they wanted to reach their destination as soon as possible.

Of course, this meant that the first round of drivers were only able to hold on for so long. For multiple members in the group, this was there first time ever driving for such a long period of time, so they grew tired out from the long drive very quickly. Casey felt fine, but Donnie was growing tired in the SUV, so the two switched vehicles and Casey drove the SUV. Donnie then switched over to the Turtle Truck where Raph was thrilled to take over as driver. As the two made the switch, Casey made sure to inform the young parents that their child was sound asleep as she leaned against Splinter who was sitting protectively with his arm wrapped around the small child. When Donnie got to the truck, he smiled as he observed not only the sight of the young child resting against his father, but also of Sam and Mikey asleep and leaning against each other as well.  
In the Turtle Van, Jay had taken over as driver and Leo had moved to the middle seat, which he was fine with because it gave him extra time to play with the infant who was surprisingly still awake (and smiling the entire time as well).

By pit stop number 2, the drivers all switched once again. Casey had grown tired from driving two rounds, so Mikey traded spots with him as he now drove the SUV. Raph needed a break as well, so Donnie returned to driving as he now drove the truck. In the van, Jay now needed a break, so Kris took over and drove the rest of the way in their vehicle.

Only one more pit stop was made after that. The group was all growing very tired so they carefully decided who was going to drive the rest of the way down. Donnie had now reached his driving limit after driving two separate rounds on the way down, so he was officially out cold. Raph would have taken over, but he was very tired out as well, plus he had a sleeping Renet at his side, so no one wanted to risk waking him and then also waking her. Because of this, Sam decided to drive the truck, while Mikey sat beside her as her passenger.  
Brenda decided to take over driving the rest of the way in the van. She smiled as she watched Leo, Jay, and baby Keeno all sleeping in the back seat. She also smiled as she sensed her brother, who was trying to stay awake, but had also succumbed to sleep after the long drive.  
Casey had returned to the SUV where he sat next to April who was now driving the rest of the way back. Casey also fought to stay awake, but eventually fell asleep, but April had rested a good majority of the way down, so she was okay to drive. She smiled at the man next to her who had attempted to be a gentleman and converse the whole way down to help keep her awake and safe, especially since Irma and Vern were also sound asleep in the back. She was grateful and found his attempt at staying awake quite charming.

This was also the reason that Mikey was fighting to stay awake as he sat next to Sam in the passenger seat of the truck.  
Sam smiled. "You're allowed to fall asleep, you know that right?" she asked.  
Mikey slightly shook his head.  
"I have to stay awake and talk, that way you stay awake. I don't want you to get hurt" he said, very, very drowsily.  
"But everyone else is asleep, you deserve to sleep to."  
"Your safety is more important" he said, not realizing his eyes were beginning to close.  
Sam just shook her head and sighed.  
"I appreciate your help, but I'm fine. I waited until the end so that I wouldn't have to drive on the highway. This is my driving comfort zone, so it's okay for you to sleep."  
"Never" he said, now realizing his eyes were closing as he opened them very wide.  
Sam couldn't help but laugh.  
"Are we there yet" a young voice asked from the back.  
"Renet? When did you wake up?" Mikey asked with a smile.  
She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, most of the tech is turned off since we're not in battle, so there's no clock"  
"Well let's change that then" Sam said as she pressed a button that turned on a few of the screens. Instead of using windows, passengers could look at the screens where mini cameras were recording and then displaying images from the outside.

Renet's eyes went wide as she looked out and saw no buildings, no cars, nothing but ocean and sand (along with some bayside grassy scenes, but still, it was nothing like the city).  
Sam then laughed to herself as Michelangelo, who was now wide awake and was able to acknowledge his surroundings, looked the exact same way and made the same surprised face as the young child sitting behind them.

It only took about 15 more minutes for them to reach their destination. Sam and Mikey stared wide eyed as they looked out at the view in front of them. The parking lot was off to the side of the gigantic household, which wasn't even in the two teens minds as they stared out at the beautiful scene in front of them. Much further down was a dock with all types of boats and water vehicles, but in front of them was a wooden planked pathway that lead down to an incredibly blue water scene that was located beyond a decent amount of sandy beach.  
It was now 10a.m. and the sun was shining brightly, illuminating a sparkling glow on top of the water, and it made the sand look warm and refreshing. The waves gently rippled due to a perfectly light breeze that blew along the beach. The best part was that there was no one in sight. No one around to spot the turtles or their father. No one was around to ruin this get away trip, so the mutant family could actually relax without having to watch their backs every second of the day in worry that someone against them would discover their location.

"Whoaaaaa, it's beautiful!" Renet said as she now was leaning over Mikey's shoulder (unfortunately Renet was too clever for her own good and had already learned how to unbuckle her car seat without assistance, but the teens decided to let it go this time since the car was parked and they were on vacation. They wouldn't want to stay buckled in much longer either).  
"Mmm" Raph groaned as he began to sit up and stretch. He then looked forward and saw the same scene and shoved his younger brother awake. It wasn't exactly the awakening Donnie was hoping for, but the view in front of him through the front window made this shove okay.

At this point everyone in the vehicle (except for Splinter who was still asleep) was staring out the front window in awe.  
"Kay, bye!" Sam shouted as she opened her door and began running towards the beach down ahead.  
She turned to see the van pull up, and before anyone could say anything Leo and Kris had already opened their doors and were rushing to meet up with Sam. Seconds later the other three brothers (Raph with Renet in his arms) were running behind these two as they all ran down towards the water in excitement.  
Sam was in the lead and was running towards the water and was so excited to return to the ocean water after not having been on a vacation in so long that she ran straight in up to her mid thighs. It wasn't until she had reached this point that she turned around and realized they brothers had all stopped back where the water just gently kissed the sand. The boys stood there with smirks on their faces, meanwhile, Renet was laughing her head off.  
"They got you Aunt Sam!" she shouted out.  
Sam crossed her arms. "Cover Renet" she said as her eyes went blue and she swung her arms in front of her so that a hue gust of wind shoved two hugs waves of water up and over the guys. Raph made sure to turn as soon as he heard Renet's named being mentioned and was able to keep the girl dry, but of course he and the others were still soaked.  
"Ha! Aunt Sam got all of you!" Renet now exclaimed.

"Are you all going to help unpack or what?!" Jay called down.  
The group turned around to see that everyone else was now awake and unloading the vehicles.  
"Heh, guess we should help with that" Leo said.  
The group jogged back, the sun helping dry them off rather quickly, and everyone grabbed a bag as they all made their way into the huge 5 story house.  
Of course, the teens (carrying Renet the entire time) literally brought in a load of bags, although each did help carry in multiple loads within one actual load of unpacking, and carefully dropped the bags in the main lobby as they then ran throughout the entire building, observing everything it had to offer.

The first thing the teens noticed was the large indoor pool and sauna when they went up to the first floor. T On this same floor, to Donnie's liking, was a computer room that was a designated work space. On the second floor was a huge gym that included some small sports rooms, including a small turf field. On the other side of this was a rock wall that stretched across the entire wall, and almost all the flooring in that room was made of either trampolines or foam pits. The third floor consisted of a large movie theater in one space, a large dance hall in the next, and a large game room in the third main space of that floor (the game room looking like a Dave and Buster's had moved into that room). The remaining space, aka the fourth and fifth floors, were all extremely spacious rooms that included 2 beds per room, a mini living room with a couch, love seat, additional comfy chairs, and even a mini kitchen space. Each room even had a hot tub. And the bathrooms were even more luxurious than the rest of the room altogether.  
Each bathroom had two square granite sinks and very shiny appliances. The turtles never realized they could love a shower as much as they were right now as all four of them literally crammed into one shower together.

"Dude! There's a tub and a shower within the doors of the shower! Like we can actually move!" Mikey shouted as he and his brothers were happily crowding into the room.  
The shower stretched into a large square and one on side of the square was a nice rounded bathtub, but there was still plenty of space (including a bench) so that the shower could be used as an actual shower, or even just as a steam room.  
"Having fun?" Sam asked as she watched the smiling brothers (and their smiling human 5th brother) as they all smiled and laughed as they crammed into the shower, amazed that it could fit all of them, even if certain brothers were basically hopping onto the other's shoulders so that they could fit perfectly.

Casey then walked in, now that everyone else had caught up, and stared wide eyed at the shower.  
"Dude this thing is huge!" he shouted as he then piled in with the rest of the guys.  
Jay and Brenda, and basically everyone else was in the same room now.  
Brenda looked at Jay and even though she knew her husband wouldn't say anything, she could tell her wanted to join them.  
"Get in there" Brenda encouraged as she cradled Keno.  
Jay couldn't help but smile as he kissed his wife. "You are literally the greatest thing ever!" he shouted as he ran in and jumped on Raph's shoulders so that he could fit in the space.  
Vern looked as if he wanted to join as well.  
"Get in here old dude! There's still space!" Mikey shouted.  
Vern then rushed over once he saw the others turtles nod and encourage him to join as well.

The women, and Splinter who couldn't keep himself from laughing at his dorky sons, all smiled and shook their heads.

It was going to be a very interesting trip indeed.

**HI GUYS! I have a million things to do, but instead I'm writing this!  
I've been craving writing lately even though I shouldn't be, but man I've missed this so much! Sorry this chapter is ridiculously short but I wanted to add and at least give an idea as to where the story is heading FOR NOW soooooooooo badly!**

**Like this literally just felt so nice to focus on this and work on a computer and not hate my life…okay that was overdramatic, but it just sucks. College literally has you reading textbooks, then typing papers, then reading and typing some more, then reading and typing for a group. My internship is going well, but third grade content obviously takes more time to plan and grade than kindergarten (btw I'm interning in a 3****rd**** grade class whereas in the past I had only ever interned in either K or Pre-k classes). There have been some breakdowns in my house. Breakdowns as in me crying my eyes out from stress, but I feel like that's something all college students do, so that's normal. I'm almost done this semester, but not just yet. **

**BUT HOLY SHIT ONCE I'M DONE I HAVE SO MUCH IN STORE FOR THIS SERIES! And I keep coming up with ideas to add and I'm just so excited like I feel like I'm going to mess with so many people in a fun way, like you're not expecting what's to come…now hopefully when I reach those moments you all actually feel that way and don't hate me.  
But this post is also to let you know that I'm still around. This story isn't over, it's just been forever because I still have to live life and this isn't my job. I would love for it to be, but it's not :/**

**But I hope you're all doing well as well. Live life, but also take care of yourselves!  
And I hope this chapter excited you for all the fun that's to come :3**


	5. Chapter 50

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #50

***Sunday March 13, 2016. 1:00p.m. at the beach***

****Once everyone had discussed the room arrangements and had unpacked, everyone slept. Literally everyone. Some people found some cozy places throughout the gigantic mansion of a house, like Donatello and Kris who had explored the outside of the house and had discovered the extremely comfortable hammocks on the humongous outside deck (which there was also more than one).  
The majority of the group however just stayed in their rooms and relaxed. It was 12:30 when everyone was officially awake and ready for some fun activities on their very first day of vacation and the first thing on everyone's mind was the beach.

Each room had its own mini living area including a mini kitchen and even a mini living room (including a hot tub, which everyone in the group was also eager to try out). On each fridge was a list explaining how things were run and what the group would need to take care of since there were no workers attending their jobs due to the group's request. These lists included information about what devices were located on the docks and also what beach or outside equipment was located in a shed right by the dock as well. The group made sure to get ready and was down by the beach at 1:00p.m.

The first thing the group did was explore what materials were available in the shed and were amazed at the variety of materials available. Of course everyone first grabbed the sunscreen, even the turtles who were forced to put some on thanks to Sam (whether they actually needed it or not, no one was sure, but Sam wasn't allowing them to take that risk, and Splinter just smiled and agreed with whatever the young and determined woman said).

Mikey and Kris then went for the volleyball and the volleyball net. The two worked together to set up the net while Raph and Leo were testing the feel of actually walking into the ocean for the first time (April made sure to take pictures because their faces were priceless and their smiles were wider than ever). So far the guys had only ever experienced the waters during their mission in Brazil, and that wasn't exactly a fun time. This was a much better first true experience towards water outside the sewers and the boys were enjoying every second of it.

Meanwhile, Donnie was building sand castles with Renet and was teaching her what tricks to use to make the castle stand as tall and as long as possible. The rest of the group was still lotioning up at this time.  
"Guys we need to make teams!" Mikey called out.  
"I'm busy" Donnie called over.  
"Go!" Renet bluntly stated.  
"Well, I see my help has been appreciated" Donnie teased.  
Renet giggled. "Go play with your brothers, I'll hold down the fort…unless you don't trust me" she teased as she turned her head and pouted.  
"Ohhh, we've taught you so well" Donnie said as he hugged the girl and then ran over to join his brothers.  
Brenda and Jay then walked over, taking their turn to play with their daughter.

Raph and Leo had already exited the water and were standing amongst the group of teens.  
April and Casey had already been passing the volleyball back and forth nearby.  
"Since when did you get so athletic?" Raph called over.  
"Since I've become the mother of four mutants that can pick me up and throw me over their shoulder" she called as she hit the ball so hard that Casey missed it.  
He looked at her in awe.  
"Whatever you're doing to train her, I want in" he said as he ran to get the ball.  
"Well training starts now. Get over here so we can pick teams" Leo said as he waved him over.  
"Where's Sam?" Donnie asked as he started counting heads to see if they would have even teams.  
"She's almost done lotioning up" April said as she then turned towards Irma who was standing further away and helping Sam put on sun screen.  
It was at this moment that the turtles realized that they had never seen Sam in a bathing suit. They had officially seen her in a dress, and they had seen her in sports bras that revealed nothing and covered her very well, but was this how she dressed when she went to the beach? Did she wear bikini bottoms? She had always worn shorts in front of them, so how would she look now?  
They each turned towards each other and gave each other a look that without words stated 'we remain calm and show no signs of change,' to which each of them nodded in agreement.  
Kris caught on to this however and let out a light laugh.  
"Guys, its Sam. There's not going to be anything shocking about the way she dresses to the beach.  
"Yet we saw her in heels and with make-up on at the wedding" Raph said, emphasizing his surprise when he saw her that way.  
Kris looked confused. "Yeah, but all women dress that way at a wedding."  
"Yeah, and all women wear revealing bikinis that show off their boobs and butt at the beach" Mikey said as he was using his feet to juggle the volleyball back and forth between him and Casey.  
"Um, I'm not" April stated. She was wearing a sporty bathing suit (she had gone shopping with Sam) where the top made a V but it was thick enough where the V did not reveal anything, this was also because athletic bathing suits were a bit tighter and didn't allow as much jiggling up top. She was also wear athletic bikini bottoms that were solid black.  
"Yeah, but I can't even picture Sam wearing what you're wearing" Donnie stated.  
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing" April said with raised brows as she crossed her arms and smiled.  
"On you it's fine, but Sam has never worn anything like that. She wears sports bras that reveal nothing, and we've never seen her wear anything other than shorts."  
"So what exactly are you looking for, you know, since she's not revealing anything?" April asked in a manipulating tone.  
Donnie just shook his head and smiled. "You just love twisting my words around don't you?" he asked.  
"April and Sam hangout a lot now, they have become one maniacal duo" Leo stated with a smile.

"Hey guys, did we pick teams yet?"  
Everyone turned to see that Sam had finally ran down and joined the group.  
Kris was not shocked at what she was wearing because he knew her personality and knew what she would be wearing. April already knew what she would be wearing since she had gone with Sam when all the women in the group went to buy bathing suits. Casey just saw Sam as being Sam and, well, he also wasn't a teenage boy (plus he was focused on how gorgeous April looked in her athletic wear).  
The guys all smiled as they saw Sam wearing a very comfortable bathing suit that fitted her personality perfectly.  
She was wearing a sporty crop top bikini top that covered everything perfectly and had thin straps that ran over her shoulders and along the back of the suit (no ties of course, she wasn't going to allow any part of her top to come off and reveal her breasts) and she was wearing a bikini bottom bathing suit, but no one would ever know since she was wearing a pair of board shorts that reached down to her mid-thighs over top.

The oldest three thought that this outfit fit her perfectly and weren't shocked like when they had seen her at the wedding. The youngest brother however, was a bit shook.  
He was expecting much thicker straps, or even a long sleeve surf shirt, he had never expected to see such thin straps criss cross along the top of her shoulders.  
And he assumed her shorts would reach down closer to her knees, not so short that they only reached her mid-thigh, which was also skin he had never seen before. Sam loved to wear epic designed spandex under her shorts and also did so in case she needed to change shorts so that she wouldn't have to run somewhere and change in private. But all those spandex shorts run long, she never wore volleyball spandex, so seeing this sight was a surprise to him.  
Mikey was so shocked at what he was seeing (even though no one would ever know since he bore the same exact same calm smile as his brothers) that when Casey beamed the ball back to him, it hit him right in the face.  
It stung a bit, but he was in the back where no one could see him, so he just stood there and continued to smile, pretending he was fine.  
April had seen everything though, but she wasn't going to say a word.

"Alright let's pick teams!" Raph called. "I'm team captain."  
"Whoa! Why do you get to be team captain?" Mikey called out.  
"Because I can kick your butt if you try to say otherwise" he said as he shoved his hand into his brother's face and pushed him backwards.  
"Well I get to be team captain because I'm the leader" Leo said.  
"I think I should be team captain because I can hold the ball so that none of you can touch it" Donnie said with a smirk as he knocked the ball out of Raph's hand, who had been preventing Mikey from getting to it.  
"I say you all get stuck working together since right now you all sound like annoying 4 year olds" Sam said as she crossed her arms.  
"Heyyyyyy" came a young voice from further behind them.  
Sam displayed an apologetic smile as she slowly turned around.  
"Hehe, sorry Renet" Sam said with her hands clapped in front of her.  
"Hmmmm that does sound interesting though" April said.  
"What?" Casey asked.  
"Mutant brothers verse the humans. I think we could take em. What do you guys think?"  
The youngest three brothers looked at each other and shrugged. Raph nudged Leo in order to get a response.  
"What?" Leo asked. He had been staring off as he watched Renet run over and pull Splinter by the hand down to where her sand castle was. He had been meditating, but seeing this child's creation and then help her build it so that it was even sturdier obviously was much more important which was made evident by the huge smile on the rat's face.  
"Humans verse mutants. You cool with crushing their hopes?"  
"I'm sorry, what?" Casey asked as he now got closer to Raph.  
"You heard me" Raph said, now taking a step closer towards Casey.  
"I think we can take care of ourselves" Casey said, trying to act tough.  
Raph just shook his head and smiled. "Alright tough guy" he said as he snatched the ball from Donnie, who had been holding it at his side, and then shoved it into the stomach of the man in front of him, "let's see if you can stay true to your word."  
"Hey! You guys are wearing the bathing suits I bought you!" Sam randomly called out.  
Casey and Raph just stared at her.  
"Good luck having dazed and confused on your team" Raph said with a smirk.  
"I'd make a comeback if I wasn't so happy you're wearing the bathing suits I looked for two weeks for" she said with a beaming smile. She then turned towards Mikey. "So you're cool if I'm not on your team this round?" she asked, since usually the two were a dynamic duo.  
"Yeah, there will be other rounds" he said, waving his hand to show that this was no big deal.  
Sam smiled. "Alright, just checking. Don't hold back" she said as she pat his shoulder and then ran past him.  
Mikey smiled as if everything was okay, but in a way he was glad they weren't on the same team. He wasn't sure he could work with her when she was showing off so much leg!

The first game started. The guys weren't sure what would be the best strategy to determine where each should stand, so they just went based on age. Leo and Mikey were in the front, with Raph behind Leo and Donnie behind Mikey.  
On the other team stood Kris and Sam in the front, and then Casey and April in the back. This way there was always a guy and a girl in each rotation so that the guys couldn't try to take advantage of that aspect.  
Donnie was the first to serve the ball and was shocked to see April bump it back with ease. Raph bumped the ball up so that Leo could spike it downwards, but Casey called it and dove forward so that when he got to it in time Kris was able to spike it downwards. They got the point that time. However, the next time the ball was served and this happened, the ball was right by the net and of course Raph was there to get it before Kris could jump up and slap it back to the other side.  
There were multiple times throughout the game where the match got playfully intense. Of course there were times where Raph and Sam were matched up and they basically made it their own personal goal to see who could spike the ball down in front of the other as many times as possible.  
Mikey would playfully flirt with April each time they were in front of each other, and of course the first time this happened she made sure to bump the ball high enough so that Mikey couldn't reach it. He caught on quickly and also made it a personal goal to always pass the ball to where she was, and being the ninja he was, he always hit it in spots where it was difficult to determine whether she or the person next to her should go for the ball.  
She shook her head and smiled. "You're going down Hamato" she said as she pointed at him.  
"Bring it angel cakes, make my day" he said with a smirk.  
Leo and Kris somehow also made it clear that they were challenging each other as well (even though none of these challenges were ever truly spoken, but they knew who was challenging who).  
Kris was constantly mocking Leo's stances as he tried to stay poised and ready for anything that might come up, and because of this Leo constantly spiked the ball at the boy's feet.  
"Hey! My eyes are up here" Kris said, pointing from his toes to his face, "I didn't give you permission to look further down" he pouted as he crossed his arms.  
"It's just so tempting" Leo mocked as he stared the other teen right in the eyes and smiled.  
"Get a room!" Sam called out as she cupped her hands around her mouth.  
The two boys looked at each other and shrugged.  
"We got one" Leo said.  
"Then let's go!" Kris said as he ducked under the net and then jumped into Leo's arms.  
"Later guys!" the two screamed as Leo began to run off.  
"Well that's a ship I didn't see coming" April said "I thought Raph was gonna run away with Casey first. Guess Raph is too wimpy to confess his love."  
"HEY!" Raph called out and pointed at the woman. "I'm not wimpy! Casey already knows he's mine! I bought him jewelry and everything!"  
Casey was now nodding his head. "It's true, for my birthday he got me a man necklace."  
"A what now?" Sam asked, raising a brow and leaning to her side in a cocky manner.  
"You know, a man necklace. A necklace for guys. Obviously he wouldn't wear the same necklace that you would see April wearing" Raph said crossing his arms and leaning onto the man in front of him.  
Casey nodded his head. "What can I say? He gets me" he said as the two bumped knuckles.  
"Well apparently you don't love each other as much as those two" Donnie teased.  
Mikey then turned towards Jay.  
"Hey Jay! Kris loves Leo more than you do!" he shouted over to the man who was being buried in the sand.  
"What?!" he screamed.  
"Dad! Go prove you love Uncle Leo more!" Renet said with a beaming giggling smile, and with that Jay was now chasing after the duo. He then quickly turned around and called out to Mikey "dude come with me! You take Kris while I win back Leo!"  
Mikey smiled as he then ran off to catch up to Jay (with Casey and Raph not far behind because of course they had to declare their bromance as stronger than the others).  
Donnie held his arms out to the side of him. "That's cool, I don't get a bromance. Whatever. I don't care."  
He then noticed Brenda had walked up beside him. "Well, you could help me win my husband back from the mutant man he just left me for" she said with a wicked yet teasing smile.  
Donnie laughed. "Need a ride over there? You know, before we piss off your husband?"  
Brenda smiled as Donnie turned around and allowed her to jump onto his back.

April and Sam stood there with their heads tilted to the side as they saw the group as they made their way back to one of the decks and were joking around near one of the large outside pools.  
They turned to see that Renet was still playing with Splinter, while Keeno was sleeping in a carrier under a large umbrella, with a blanket hanging over top his carrier so that the sun could not touch him. He was located next to Irma and Vern who were happily talking away, but constantly turning to check on the baby.  
They overheard Renet asking questions to Splinter about his sons, in which he replied "I don't know them."

April then turned to Sam. "You okay with Leo stealing your man like that?" she provoked.  
"Jay?" Sam said disgusted, "no that's my brother. Let Leo do whatever he wants with him."  
"That's not what I meant and you know it" she said as she squinted her eyes at the teen.  
Sam just stood there, her expression making it very clear that she was very confused.  
April rolled her eyes. "I mean Kris! Everyone knows you like him" she said as she nudged the girl.  
Sam looked down at her shoulder where she was just nudged and then slowly lifted her head to look at April, her mouth slightly open and showing her lightly gritted teeth while the rest of her face was scrunched up.  
"I like who now?" she said in a low and sloppily muttered voice.  
Now it was April who looked confused. "Do…do you not like him? Like, like-like him?"  
Sam shook her head, and not in the rapid way that would mean she was nervous. She genuinely shook her head no.  
"Does…does everyone think I like him?"  
"No, well I guess I assumed people thought that since I did. No one has ever actually said that to me though. I know me and Casey think you like him."  
"No, I stopped liking him a long time ago, why did-"  
"Aunt Sam!" Renet cut in, running as quick as she could over to her aunt with her arms open wide, signaling she wanted to be picked up.  
Sam's expression changed once the young child had come closer, and she scooped the young girl up into her arms.  
"What's up buttercup?" she asked as she gently rocked the child while she held her against her hip.  
"Will you go in the water with me? Sensei is going to check on the uncles to make sure they're not acting younger than me" she said with a giggle.  
"Well I would love to go in the water with you! Did you ask Aunt April if she would like to join us?"  
Renet's eyes went wide. "Sorry Aunt April! That was rude of me. Would you like to join us and go in the water?" she said with a beaming smile.  
April walked over and bent down a bit so she was eye to eye with the girl being held in her other aunt's arms.  
"Maybe a little later, that volleyball match tired me out. I'm not anywhere near as athletic as the rest of your aunts and uncles. I'm going to go check on your brother, which I think your mother had the same idea since she's jogging back over here now."

With that, April walked back over to where everything was set up, and Sam placed Renet back down on the ground and took her hand.  
"Have you ever felt the ocean water before?" Sam asked, now noticing Renet was holding onto her hand tightly once her feet touched the ground.  
"No…I thought you were gonna carry me in" she said with a frown.  
"Then why didn't you say so?" Sam asked as she then scooped the child back up with a spin and then hugged her close and blew 'raspberries' against her cheek.  
"Are you ready now?" she asked the hysterically laughing four year old."  
"Yes!" Renet said, throwing her arms around Sam's neck.  
Sam took a few steps into the water and sighed. "The temperature is perfect. There's enough sun where the cold water feels just right. The sun isn't beaming down to the point where it's unbearable, and the water isn't so cold that it makes you feel miserable. Everything is just right."  
Sam was now standing far enough in that the water had reached her upper thighs. A wave splashed up and hit Renet's legs.  
"It's chilly!" she giggled.  
"Well that's because you're not walking in it, so when it hits you it's going to feel really cold. Your body isn't used to the temperature yet. I'll walk a little further so that part of your body is more in the water. Is that okay?"  
The little girl nodded her head as she held on tight to her aunt.  
Sam now walked far enough in so that the water was hitting her waist, and now was hitting Renet's legs. The girl got so excited every time the water splashed up and hit her tummy.  
"I wanna feel the water more!" Renet exclaimed as she happily kicked her feet.  
Sam laughed as she tightly held onto the girl. "Now hold on, we have to go back and get your swimmies if you want to fully go in the water. It's starting to get to high now-"  
Ironically, just as Sam was referencing the high waves, a rather large wave had come crashing down and was up to Sam's neck, meaning it had hit Renet in the face. It was powerful enough to knock Sam backwards and she would have fallen backwards if a tall turtle hadn't shown up behind her at the perfect time.  
Sam instantly began checking on her niece and was waiting for the girl to cry (she knew she cried the first time she was splashed in the face when at a pool when she was a kid) but Renet just shook her head and puckered her lips together.  
"Ew, that's yucky" she said.  
"Are you okay?" Sam asked in a worried tone.  
"Yeah, I just taste yucky" Renet said.  
Sam sighed and then tilted her head back some. "Thanks D, I owe you."  
Donnie smiled down at the two ladies in front of him.  
"I came to see how you two were doing, looks like I made a smart choice."  
"As always" Renet said, making the other two laugh at her blunt honesty.  
"Let's go back and wipe our mouths with a clean towel. I don't like that salty taste either."  
"Uncle Donnie, why is the ocean salty?" Renet asked as the three made their way back to shore.  
"Salt is poured into the ocean from rainfall on large rocks from land. This salt builds up in the ocean because the only way water can leave the ocean is through evaporation. And when the water evaporates it doesn't take the salt with it. So you end up with less water, and the same amount of salt, resulting in a pretty salty sea" he said nonchalantly.  
"Renet" Sam said.  
"Hm?"  
"Repeat what Donnie just said."  
"Salt comes from rocks on land. The water only leaves the ocean from evaporation, or the water turning into air. But the salt doesn't leave with the water, so the ocean becomes even more salty."  
Sam raised her eyes and nodded. "Alright, just checking."  
Renet narrowed her eyes. "You didn't think I understood him, did you?"  
"Well, most four year olds wouldn't have a clue what he just said, but then again, you're not like most four year olds" Sam said with a smile.  
"She's a bright one alright" Donnie said, ruffling Renet's hair as she was placed back on the sand and then ran over to her parents.  
"They couldn't have picked a more perfect child to fit this quirky family" Sam said, leaning onto the tall turtle.  
"I was worried that she would tell others about us, but she's bright. She knows how to keep secrets, and not only that, but she comprehends why they're important. She's going to change the world one day. I just know it."  
"Well someone is jumping to conclusions pretty quick" Sam teased.  
"I thought so to the first time that crossed my mind, but she just…doesn't follow the guidelines for how children develop. She can comprehend things that typical children in general wouldn't understand. I was literally talking to her about different parts of the world the other day because she found a globe in my lab, and she absorbed everything I was telling her. I was even asking questions that would prove whether or not she was understanding me and she was able to properly respond to everything. Heh, and then she sees Mikey and goes back to acting like a typical 4 year old" he said as he saw Mikey run up to Renet, who was running up to him, and then watched as Mikey fell back and hold Renet up high as if she had knocked him over all on her own. Donnie couldn't tell which of the two had the bigger smile on their face.  
"I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't noticed it either. She's intelligent. Oh god, that means she's going to turn out like you" Sam said as she looked up at Donatello with a worried wide eyed expression on her face.  
He squinted his eyes as he looked down at her. "And what's wrong with that?"  
"That means…she's going to be a geek!" Sam scream-whispered just loud enough so that her friend could hear.

"Oh" Donnie pouted as he turned around and took a few steps out into the water.  
Sam took a few steps and followed him, afraid that she had touched a nerve.  
"What's wrong?" she asked, slightly concerned, slightly mockingly.  
"I just think you're confused" Donnie said. "Cause geeks can't do this" he said moving so swift that Sam couldn't react and that fast was scooped up and thrown far off into the deeper waters.  
When she popped her head back up above the water, she saw that Mikey had now tackled Donnie screaming "only I can do that to my best friend!"  
Of course, if two brothers were water wrestling, then the other two just had to join, so now it was Raph and Mikey verse Leo and Donnie.  
Of course, Sam had to avenge her best friend! So when Leo wasn't looking, she ran up behind him and jumped on his back, covering his eyes with her hands.  
"I've got him!" Sam called.  
"Back to the water!" Donnie called as he grabbed her and tossed her back.  
"Oh we can do that to" Raph said with a smug look as he caught up to his second to youngest brother and tossed him further out.  
When Sam rose her head from the water, Donnie had made a splash right next to her.  
"Ha! Karma boi!" she said.  
Donnie's reply was to push her back into the water and then run away to avenge his oldest brother, who right now was being lifted by Raph and Mikey.  
Now Kris was joining to avenge his bromance brother.  
The match was now 3 vs. 3…until Renet ran in to avenge the losing team (at the moment, Kris, Leo, and Donnie).  
"Rawr!" Renet called with her hands up in the air.  
"RUN!" Mikey yelled as he literally threw Sam over his shoulder.  
"SHE CAN'T BE STOPPED!" Raph shouted as the two brothers darted onto the shore with a tiny Renet chasing after them.  
The other group was laughing, until Jay walked near the edge of the shore with an even tinier Keno in his arms.  
"Grrr fear me! I have powerful poopy powers! Fear me as much as my diaper!" Jay said in a high pitched voice as he carefully held his son in front of him.  
"Nnn" the three men said as they pretended as if they had been cursed and were losing feeling in their bodies, twitching their arms and grabbing their chests.  
"I can't move!" Leo called out as he fell to his knees.  
"Is this the end?!" Donnie shouted.  
"Hold me" Kris said as he basically trust falled onto Donnie, and the three playfully collapsed in the water.  
"Dang, we have some strong kids! I feel proud as a parent" Brenda said. "We're heading back guys. We want to put Keno down for a nap and get him out of the heat."

The teens all nodded and decided that now was a good time to head back and relax as well. They all headed to the pool while the older humans (being all coupled up) and Splinter as well (who wanted some meditation time since it was happily taken from a young girl on the beach) headed to various places inside the gigantic house.  
The 6 teens decided to test out the gigantic pool, along with its numerous water slides. It was now 2:30, and the teens slid and swam for hours. Eventually they made their way up to the literal designated relax space filled with comfy chairs. They were still wet so they didn't want to go back in just yet, so they all just hung out and talked for a while. They never meant to, but they all drifted back into sleep (they had been playing on the beach and then in the pool for many hours now). Most of them hadn't even realized they had fallen asleep, Mikey being one of them, as he was the first to wake up. He sat up very slowly, rubbing his eyes as he tried to look around.  
The sun was setting now and there was a beautiful pink and red glow across the clouds. He was about to wake up his brothers so that they could see the view as well, but he then realized that Sam was no longer amongst the group.

At first he assumed she had just gone inside, but then he saw that her flip flops were still outside. She would have taken them inside if she had gone in, so she had to be somewhere.  
A slight bit of panic began to rise in him as he wondered where she was. He stood up from his lounge chair and walked around some, first checking (and then sighing in relief) to see that she wasn't floating alone in the pool. As he continued to walk around, he saw that the shed door was still open down by the end of the dock. He took a few more steps forward and smiled in relief when he saw her lying on a boogie board out in the ocean.  
He jogged down until he reached the water and then slowly walked out towards where his friend was lying down.  
She turned her head when she felt more ripples growing stronger, and she smiled when she saw her best friend walking towards her.  
"Getting a taste of the ocean before the night ends?" she asked.  
"I am now. I was wondering where you went. I was afraid you fell asleep out here."  
"Nah, too paranoid a wave would get me and I'd panic. This is a place to relax, not to end it."  
"Heh, good to know" he said sarcastically as he leaned back on his shell, floating alongside his female friend.  
"I never thought I would see the ocean again" Sam said calmly.  
"Why?" Mikey asked.  
"I dunno. Life just got dark for a while. I guess I assumed I wouldn't experience normal things like trips to the beach anymore."  
"Ahhh, so that's why you're out here. Letting your thoughts roam, huh?" Mikey said, but Sam could tell by the way he spoke that he was being serious and genuine rather than silly and playful.  
She smiled. "Yeah. It's easier to let thoughts roam when you're alone."  
"Do you still have bad thoughts?" he asked.  
"Not the same way I used to" she said as she now turned onto her stomach on her boogie board. "I mostly just have nightmares every once in a while, but even those have died down."  
"What did you used to think about?" he asked, cautiously, not wanting her to speak of anything that would upset her or make her uncomfortable.  
She sighed. "Robbing stores, figuring out what I could get away with. Not caring about the consequences. Just wanting attention because I was always alone."  
"Why?"  
Sam scoffed. "Why to which one?"  
"All of them" he replied softly.  
Sam turned her gaze towards her friend and now realized how concerned his face was as he stared back at her.  
"Well, I was mad at the world because of what I lost, and I felt like there was nothing to look forward to every time I came home to an empty house. Jay had to work, well, what I thought was actual work in order to provide for us, so he was rarely ever home. I would come home to an empty house with no one to tell me right from wrong, so when I got angry or upset I did whatever I wanted. I never meant to get arrested, but it happened a few times."  
"Then what happened?"  
"Jay would fight for me to get free bail, reminding the authorities about what I had lost and why I was lashing out. That's when therapy started. That was one of the reasons why I stopped stealing and doing petty crimes. God I wanted therapy to end, that was just so frustrating" she groaned as she now turned back over to her back side.  
"What were the other reasons?"  
Sam folded her hands across her stomach. "Mostly therapy, but my coaches and dance instructors said I wouldn't be able to participate if I kept acting the way I was, and I was reaching a point in life where soccer and dance had so much meaning and purpose for me that I couldn't lose that. That and there was one other reason…" she trailed off.  
Mikey stood up in the water and put his hands on the side of the boogie board.  
"We don't have to talk about it if you're not ready" he said.  
Sam then sat up herself.  
"It's fine. Just, don't tell the others okay? I've never really talked to anyone about this."  
"Of course, you know me" he said.  
"Well…I got into an accident once. I was running from a store where I had just stole a couple packs of gum, and I wasn't paying attention and ran right in front of a car…you okay?" Sam asked in fear of the uneasy look her friend was displaying.  
"Yeah" he said with a fake smile, "just, thinking of things."  
"Like?" she asked, wanting him to further explain himself.  
"…just thinking of when we saw you almost die…twice…sorry, this is your story" he said, shaking his head.  
Sam then gently placed her hand on his arm. "Don't ever apologize for being worried about me, it's literally saved my life before. And I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't talk about it."  
"Well now I need to know what happened" he said, trying to lighten the mood.  
"Luckily it wasn't anything serious, but I broke my arm and sprained both ankles, so I was in the hospital for a few nights, and I stayed home for about a week. The pain didn't really faze me…but my brother. That's what truly changed me."  
"Did he lose his shit?" Mikey asked, cringing as he thought of Jay lashing out at Sam, just like when they all returned from Brazil.  
"That's the thing," Sam began, "he was so silent. He got a call that I was in the hospital and from what Brenda eventually told me, since he physically seemed calm, but mentally be was breaking down so she had a talk with me in his place, and apparently he was a mess when he got the call. Almost got into an accident himself speeding to the hospital. I had been so selfish and was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I had forgotten the way he reacted when he found me about to throw back pills the morning I woke up, just hearing the rest of my siblings had died-"  
"Stop" Mikey sternly interrupted. "You're shaking…" he said as he clutched his hand tighter onto her arm.  
She smiled at him. "It's okay, I don't think I can every calmly talk about this, but I promise I'm okay" she said in a calmer and sweet tone.  
"So, your brother made you change your ways?"  
Sam nodded. "Now I wasn't ready to completely change everything, but I knew I needed to make smart changes. I had learned a lot from my failed robbery attempts, and that's what lead me to learning coding and hacking so that I could sneak into places overnight. That's honestly also why I wanted to get back into martial arts and self-defense training. I convinced Jay that it was all so that I could safe, and also more confident in soccer and dance. Those weren't lies, but it wasn't the full truth either."  
"But you made changes for the better. You were able to take better care of yourself so that you weren't in danger like you were before. You still snuck out at night which wasn't safe, but now you could protect yourself. That meant you weren't adding to your record and you weren't hurting your brother. I'm glad you made those changes."  
"Oh really? Why so?" Sam said with a chuckle.  
"You've said in the past that you also would sneak out so that you're siblings would send you a signal that they were watching over you. Well, since Jay allowed you to train yourself, and you stayed home and did things like study up on skills you could use to your advantage sine you weren't sneaking out during the day anymore, you made discoveries at night. And that lead you to the greatest sign your siblings could give you to show you they cared."  
"And that was?" Sam asked with a smile, already knowing where he was going with this.  
"To us. To your new family" he said gently.  
"I know. And I thank them for that every day."  
"I wish I could thank them in person. You've changed our lives. Heh, none of us ever thought we would be here."  
"Neither did I bro, neither did I."

"HEY! Get up here! Dinner is ready inside!"  
The two turned to see Raph calling down to them from further back closer to the house.  
"I love how my stomach doesn't think of food until someone else mentions it" Sam said as she now held her stomach.  
Mikey stood up in front of Sam.  
"Hop on. Your suit looks like it's dry, so no point in both of us having to dry off when we get back."  
"My, what a gentleman" Sam teased she hopped onto her friends back.  
Mikey walked her back to shore and then ran the boogie board back to the shed, hoping that maybe that would help dry his suit off some.  
It didn't do much, so Sam ran inside and grabbed him a pair of soft and dry sweatpants (man she was good at buying comfortable and appropriate sized clothes for the guys!) and then ran them back outside so that Mikey could change in the outside bathroom (since of course there was a lovely bathroom outside, like full plumbing and clean as could get, it was a beautiful bathroom and changing space!)  
The two then made their way inside where they joined the rest of the family in the dining area in the lobby where all the fancy tables were located.  
Everyone was already sitting down and had begun eating food along the dinner buffet. The list of instructions left by the original owners of the house stated that the mutants only needed to be hidden for a short period of time at the beginning of every day when a couple of trucks dropped off food that was usually served buffet style to guests staying at the house (it was easier to serve larger crowds that way). The instructions then informed the group of how to simply prepare the food so that they could eat all three meals each day at the house.  
The two joined everyone for dinner, and after everyone was showered up afterwards, it was straight to bed where everyone fell asleep in mere minutes.

It had been a great first day.

**Heyyyyyyyy I should be doing homework but instead I'm doing this!  
Also….THIS IS MY 50****TH**** CHAPTER!  
Like….whoa. Granted, some chapters are extremely short, but the fact that I've even written so long now that this is an actual series. Like there's time skips and major events and so many characters now. It's unbelievable. But this is all because there are people who continue to read this story. Like people even replied after I uploaded my short chapter the other day and the fact that there were people who were waiting and surprised to receive an update literally made me so happy. I kid you not when I say I was smiling at my phone like a fool when I read those comments. And to the silent readers who don't leave comments, your support is always greatly appreciated. Any and all support means the world to me and the fact that the view count goes up means that you all continue to want to read, and I will never be able to truly thank you enough for that.**

**Well, day one of the vacation is complete! I'll try not to spend too much time on vacation, but there are a few things I want to focus on. But there's a HUGE event that will happen when everyone returns home and I want to get to writing about that soon, but I also don't want to rush through this section of the story too fast either. There was a main conversation that occurred in this story that puts certain character thoughts into perspective. And there were some cute Renet moments! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully see you again soon!**


	6. Chapter 51

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #51

**Spring Break through Renet's eyes:**

She had only known them all for about a month now, and she couldn't have been happier that this was the family she had been destined to be with. In fact, she believed that this family was placed on this earth for her to find them, just like her Aunt Sam had.  
Maybe it was Rachel who had been looking out for her, maybe it was some sort of greater power, but with this family she truly felt she would never ever be alone again.

On Monday morning Renet had woken up very early. She sat up only to see that her parents were still asleep, and as long as Keeno was still sleeping, then so were they. She tip toed over to where the closet was and silently pulled out a clean t-shirt and pair of sporty shorts. Once she had her shoes and clothes on, she silently left the room without anyone knowing she had ever moved a muscle.  
She then ran down the halls, amazed by the beautiful building she was in. She ran down the staircases and then from floor to floor, until she heard movement from the weight room that is.

She walked closer and looked through the glass of the door to see her mutant uncles and her Aunt Sam working out and using all different types of equipment. She didn't realize that she had leaned forward as she stared in awe at her family's incredible strength and abilities until the door had begun to open and she then tumbled forward.  
Leo turned around when he heard the door and smiled when he saw the small child.  
"Well, looks like we have a visitor" he said as he walked over and leaned over the child who was teeny tiny to him even when she was standing up.  
"I wanna be strong like you guys" she said, her eyes still open wide.  
"Heh, well it's going to take a long time for you to be as strong as us" he said as he leaned down and scooped up the child so that she was sitting in his arms.  
"When did you become strong Uncle Leo?" she asked with curiosity.  
"Hmmmm, we were probably 7 or so when Sensei introduced us to martial arts. That's when we started training daily. But you're took young for rough training like that."  
Renet crossed her arms and began to pout. "How am I gonna fight bad guys and save the world if I'm not strong?" she moped.  
Leo couldn't help but chuckle. "And who said it was your job to save the world?" he said with a smile.  
Renet paused, realizing that she might have just said something she shouldn't have. "I want to keep all of you safe. You all protect each other, I want to do the same thing" she replied. This way she wasn't lying, but she wasn't revealing secret information either.  
"Hmmmmm, well Raph is the best at preparing workout routines for the rest of us. Maybe he can come up with something for you. Let's go ask" he whispered as he brought the girls ear close to his face, making the girl giggle from her uncle's silly actions.

Leo walked over towards where Raph was lifting weights as he laid back along a bench, while Sam was standing nearby as his spotter.  
She smiled when she saw Leo walking over with the little bundle known as Renet.  
"Oh Raphael" Sam said in an oddly sweet voice.  
"What?" he grunted as he looked back at her. That's when he saw Sam nod her head forward. Raph looked forward and began to sit up, and that's when he saw his brother and the young child. His expression immediately changed from the annoyed expression from the way Sam had said his full first name to a calmer one.  
"Hey. What's up?" he asked as he stood up and away from the bench.  
"I have a small fry who wants to turn into a tough tatter tot" Leo said, moving her arms as if she was fighting a bad guy.  
Raph chuckled. "Oh really?"  
"Train me?" Renet asked, her hands clapped together in front of her as a means of asking permission.  
While Renet bowed her head forward, Raph and Leo exchanged the same comical look.  
"Ohhhhh fine. I guess I can train you for today" he said as he took Renet from Leo's arms and carried her across the gigantic space to a spot where she could 'train' without using any heavy equipment.

He first taught her some different stretches to complete first so that her muscles would be warmed up. He then took her to a spot where there were hand weights of all different sizes. He then showed her different exercises using the lightest weight they had (which was about 2 pounds). He then showed her how to use machines that would be safe for her. She used the bikes (although Raph had to help her use the pedals), he taught her how to use an ab machine (which was actually just a curved pole that could be used in a variety of different ways, how to use the rowing machine, some different exercises on yoga balls, a mini stepper machine, and a few other machines that were harmless as long as he was there right beside her.  
Within this gym was also a course based on the Ninja Warrior series. Raph ended their training session with helping Renet complete the course. He helped her climb the ladders, he held onto her and helped her jump (which was really him carrying her) from one jumping stone to the other, and he helped her move across each set of monkey bars the course had to offer.

Raph was having so much fun with the child that he hadn't even thought about her parents, not until Jay walked over with a concerned look on his face.  
"Dude! I have no issues with you having a play date with my child, but let a dad know first! Okay?"  
"What are you talking about?" Raph asked, confusion written on his face as he placed the girl back on her feet on the ground.  
"I came down here on my own daddy" Renet said as she walked over and put her arms up so that he dad would hug her.  
Jay crouched down and gave his daughter a huge hug, but then pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders. "Why didn't you tell us you were leaving the room? We woke up and started freaking out because we couldn't find you. We ran into the hall and ran into your uncles who said you were down here."  
"Oh" Raph said as he then looked around the room, "I hadn't realized they even left, hehe."  
Renet smiled at her uncle and then turned back towards her dad.  
"You and mommy were sleeping, so I didn't want to wake you. But I was ready for the day!" she said with excitement.  
Jay smiled. "And that's fine, but next time you need to let us know!"  
"That or inform us to contact your parents" Raph said with his arms crossed as he now walked over and stood over top of Renet.  
The girls smile began to fade. "You're mad at me…" she said in dismay.  
Raph shook his head. "Nah, I'm not mad. But I am worried that you're going to scare your dad again. I don't know if I can train someone without permission" he said, secretly winking to Jay as a signal that he would catch him up later.  
Renet then rapidly began shaking her head. "No! I'll let my parents know next time! I promise!" she said turning back and forth between her dad and her uncle.  
"Good. In that case, training is over for today. Let's go eat" Raph said.  
Jay stood up while holding his daughters hand, and he couldn't keep from smiling when he saw his literally hopping daughter squeeze his own hand while also squeezing the hand of her rough and tough uncle.  
Today was day one of her training with Uncle Raph, which continued throughout the rest of the vacation.  
She would later on be grateful for these training routines that her uncle introduced to her this week and at such a young age. She had no idea now how much these routines would come in handy the older she grew. Donnie was right when he said that one day she would change the world, but for now, she just wanted to spend more time getting to know her 'scary' teddy bear of an uncle.

On Tuesday evening she got to spend more quality time with the oldest brother when the teens had returned to the pool.  
Renet wanted to join the group, but she also had seen teenagers before and she knew that some groups were mean when they didn't want to be bothered from their fun. However, Leo sensed this child just like he had the previous morning (something he was also learning to master) and snuck into the house through a side door. He then scooped up the surprised Renet from the doorway and walked her outside.  
"So why are you hiding from us tatter tot?" he asked.  
"I didn't want to get in the way" she said softly.  
"I'm sorry what?!" he said out loud, shocking the child in his arms. "Well my soul is broken. HEY GUYS!" Leo called out to the others in the pool, "RENET THINKS SHE'S GOING TO GET IN OUR WAY."  
"Ha! I must be hearing things, I thought Leo just said Renet would get in our way" Kris said, literally slapping his knee. "That's funny!"  
"I shall now reenact the way my heart feels" Mikey said as he flopped into the pool.  
Raph, Donnie, and Sam all looked at each other.  
"Ditto" the trio said as they all threw themselves into the pool the same way Mikey just had.  
"See?" Leo said as he placed the girl on her feet and then sat in a chair nearby so that he was on eye level with her, "those dorks over there love you. You can't get in the way when you're the path they want to follow" he said with a smile. "Now let's go back inside and get your floaties-"  
"My swimmies!" she interrupted.  
"My apologies, your swimmies, so that you can join us in the pool" he said as he stood up and walked with her back inside.

The two returned soon with Renet's swimmies which Leo helped blow up and place around her arms.  
He then walked with the girl back over towards the pool. He knew that Renet still wasn't confident in the water yet, so he placed her on top his shoulders as he walked into the pool. Sam had brought a couple boogie boards from the beach shed up to pool since she liked to lay in the sun on the boards. She gave one to Renet and the teens took turns pulling her around the pool, and once Jay and Brenda made their way outside with Keno, Jay jumped into the pool and pretended to chase after her while she was being pulled from the turtles who were pretending to save her from the 'monster' that Jay was acting as.  
At one point Sam pretended that she needed to be saved and Leo held onto Renet in the water so that she could save Sam. This process was then repeated as Leo helped Renet save Mikey, then Donnie, then Kris, and then Raph.  
After a couple more hours in the pool, Renet grew very tired.  
Many of the teens and adults had taken breaks and had rested throughout their time at the pool, and everyone had taken turns holding baby Keno, but Leo had decided to play with Renet as much as he could since he didn't always get the quality time he would have hoped for with the girl.  
Between all the aunts and uncles the young child had, it wasn't always easy getting time to play and bond with her, so he wanted to take advantage of this time as best he could. That was why he also offered to take the groggy child inside and freshen up once it was obvious how tired she was.

Leo walked with Renet to the elevator that took them to her parent's room. Leo had Renet take a 'tubby' but had her keep her bathing suit on. This way he could help clean the chlorine from her eyes, but not have her sit completely naked in the tub as well. Of course, Renet got her second wind and wanted to play once she was in the tub.  
Well Leo wasn't ready to say no to bath paints and bathtub fishing. Leo taught Renet how to write some Japanese kanji on the sides of the tub and was surprised at how easily the child was able to copy his own handwriting.  
Soon after, Renet had thrown a bunch of toy fish into the tub so that she and Leo could use toy fishing rods to pull them out of the water.  
Finally, the actually tubby was complete and as Leo was helping Renet dry off and change into a clean pair of clothes, he began to count how many times she had yawned (it was 9, oh now it was 10 times).  
Leo smirked as he walked the sleepy child over towards one of the beds. After the long day full of play he had had, he decided to lay down next to her, but leaving enough space so that if he happened to turn over that he wouldn't hurt her. He fell asleep…and the next thing he knew, he was gently being shaken awake.  
"Hey bro, time to wake up" he heard Raph saying.  
Leo groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "What time is it?"  
"Dinner time!" he heard his youngest brother call out from down the hall (which he also heard Sam smack him because 'Renet was sleeping in there').  
Leo rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He then stared down at Renet who was still sound asleep.  
"You okay?" Raph asked him.  
Leo looked confused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"  
"Hmph, sorry. It was just the look you were giving her" Raph replied as he sat down on the bed.  
Now Leo's eyes were wide. "Was my stare creepy? Was it weird?"  
Raph chuckled softly. "No, you just looked at her as if you were a dad."  
"Is…is that weird?" Leo asked.  
"No, trust me. I've had talks with Jay and Casey about it. Apparently all four of us do it. They say it's just natural instincts and Jay says him and Brenda appreciate that we have them. They're always trying to monitor the baby so they love that we know how to be protective of their daughter. They also think us being so fatherly is what's helping Renet get so comfortable so quickly with the whole family."  
"Well our family is definitely one that takes a while to get used to" Leo chuckled.  
They both then looked back down at the sleeping child.  
"Man I want one of these one day" Raph said softly.  
"Me to. I never realized how great it would be to have a kid around. And we're fortunate to have two in our lives now" Leo said with a smile.  
"Hopefully more in the future when Sam and Kris get married. And if April ever gets married then she might have some to."  
"But let's not rush things. Let's cherish the time we have with these two while they're still kids" Leo said.  
"Couldn't have said it better myself bro" Raph stated.  
"Hey, you guys coming?" Kris said as he now stood in the doorway.  
"Yup, who wants to carry the tatter tot?"  
"I'll do it. You guys keep hogging her, so I'll take care of her this time" Kris teased, which then lead to him receiving nudges from the two brothers.

Of course, Renet being the sneak she was, was acting the entire time. She had been awake ever since she heard Mikey yelling in the hallway, but she kept her eyes closed so that no one would notice (something Sam and Mikey had taught her).  
She was shocked to hear her uncles talk as if they were never going to have children one day. Granted, there were still a lot of people that would eventually enter their lives that they had never met, but did they really think that she was one of the only kids that would enter their lives?  
And why did they think Aunt Sam was going to marry Uncle Kris? That was a bit shocking to her. Apparently they had no idea who Sam really loved (or who she would love, since nothing could tell Renet when her aunt fell in love with her husband when she did, she just knew that one day it would happen). But she wondered why they thought it would be Kris. Was it because he was human? He acted the same way that the others did around her, and Sam treated him the same as she did the others, so maybe her turtle uncles assumed that Sam would only date a human. She did just hear her uncles talk as if they would never have kids of their own, so maybe that's how they felt.

She carefully brought it up with her intelligent uncle the following afternoon when she was with him on the beach. Every day at one point or another throughout that entire week, Renet ended up on the beach with Donatello. There were days when he taught her how to fly a kite, there were days where they went sightseeing and watched dolphins from the shore, some days they went scuba diving and examined different plants and animals they saw in the water. Today, they were collecting shells. It was part of a craft that Renet was completing. She took some sand from the beach and scooped that into a zip lock bag. She also had a bucket in which she was placing small shells. At home she had a jar where she would place all the shells and would then pour the sand in from the beach.  
Of course, the entire time she was on the beach with her uncle, the two were always talking up a storm.  
"Uncle Donnie, what do you and your brothers think of humans?" she asked as she picked up a rosy pink colored shell she spotted in the water.  
"Can you be more specific?" he asked as he picked up a shell, but then tossed it back into the water once he realized it was badly cracked.  
"Do you like humans?" she asked.  
Donnie chuckled. "Well of course we like humans. You and your entire family are made of humans. That and we saved the entire city, well, the world actually. And the world is made of humans. So yes, we care about them. Why do you ask?"  
"I thought maybe that's why you all think Aunt Sam likes Uncle Kris."  
Donnie paused while the two were crouched down in the water.  
"Why would that have anything to do with whether we like humans or not?" he asked gently.  
"I thought maybe you assumed she liked him because they were both human."  
"Ahhhh I see" he said as the two stood up and continued to walk along the shoreline. "And why are you worrying about things like that in the first place?" Donnie asked.  
Renet had to think of an excuse.  
"Because I'm a child, and I see everything" she said in a playfully menacing tone before running along the shore towards a shiny shell.  
"Well, I definitely can't argue with that" Donnie said as he placed his arms behind his head and trailed behind the young girl.  
"Gasp! Something you can't argue with? You can't be my Uncle Donnie" Renet teased as she stuck her tongue out playfully.  
Donnie stopped and stared at the child with raised brows.  
"Well something I can argue about is whether that shell belongs to you or me!" he said he snatched it from her hand and then 'ran' away.  
"Hey!" Renet laughed, "that's mine!"  
"Well let's look at the facts. I'm taller, I'm faster, and I'm a ninja" he said as he dorkily kicked his leg in front of him, "therefore, unless you can defeat me, then this shell is mine."  
"Well the facts say that finders keepers losers weepers" she said with her hands on her hips.  
"Those aren't facts because they can't be proven. Soooo I win you lose!" he said as he continued to take long and slow strides along the shore.  
Within seconds, tiny little Renet was chasing her tall uncle all over the beach. Once Donnie could see that Renet was growing tired, he pretended to trip and collapse onto the beach.  
"Oh no!" he said.  
"Got it! It's mine!" Renet said as she scooped up the shell into her hands.  
Donnie snapped his fingers and placed his fist under his chin as he sat up in the sand. "You got me this time. This has been a terrible tale of the troublesome tatter tot" he teased.  
Renet walked up to Donnie and sat in his lap.  
"It's okay Uncle Donnie, I'll share it with you" she said as she held it close to his face. "It's purple, so we can take turns keeping it" she said with a beaming smile.  
"You've already shared more with me then you'll ever know" Donnie said as he smiled and hugged his niece.  
As the two gathered their belongings and made their way back to the relax space, Renet wondered if what her uncle had said was similar to what her two oldest turtle uncles were talking about the other day.  
'He must be the same way. He must think I'm one of the only kids he'll ever see.'

Donnie laid down on a hammock so that he could look up at the stars, but his gaze was distracted and redirected to the four year old who climbed up and was now sitting on his stomach.  
"Uncle Donnie, are you ever going to have kids?" Renet asked bluntly.  
Donnie fought to hide his laughter. "Ex-squeeze me?" he asked.  
"Will-you-ever-have-kids?" she asked as she clapped out the syllables.  
"No" Donnie said, "why?"  
"…I want cousins" Renet stated. This was a lie. She loved her baby brother and was fine with how things were now where it was just two children being spoiled with attention, but she needed to say something without giving away her real reason for wanting to know.  
"Well even if I had kids, they would be even younger than your baby brother by the time they were born silly. Now what's up with these questions today? Did Uncle Mikey say something stupid in front of you again?" he asked as he rolled his eyes.  
"No" Renet giggled, "and I always ask you questions."  
"Yes, but today they have a unique theme. Why are you asking personal questions?"  
Now Renet felt embarrassed, she couldn't think of an excuse that wouldn't make her uncle feel sad.  
"Renet" Donnie said more sternly, "be honest. It's okay" he reassured her.  
Renet looked down while she spoke. "Why do you all think that you're never going to have families?" she asked in a low voice.  
Donnie scrunched his face. "Now why are you worried about something like that?" he asked gently, sitting up some so that he could sit face to face with her.  
"I want you all to be happy. You guys all helped change my life in such a short amount of time and have made me so happy. Why don't any of you think that you'll be happy like that?"  
"But, we're already happy Renet. We have more than we could have ever asked for right here, right now. Me talking to you on a beach is literally something I never thought would ever happen to me."  
The girl shook her head. "That's not the type of happiness I mean. I mean like how dad looks at mom, and how he looks at me and Keno."  
Donnie paused, wondering how he should respond to this.  
"You see….your uncles and I…we would love to have something like that. But, it's not really possible-"  
"Why not?" she asked in a demanding tone.  
He displayed an apologetic look, as if what he was about to say would upset her.  
"You and your parents, Sam and Kris, Irma and Vern and April and Casey, they're each a one in a million type people. Meaning that there's no one else like them. They accept us for who we are, not what we look like. Like, Sam has literally put her life on the line to protect my brothers and I. Not everyone in this world would care about others like that. Sam cares about us, and we all care about her. That's why our families are connected, because we all care about one another and would do anything for the others. But not ALL humans are that way."  
"But Aunt Sam said that there are people in the city that want to thank you! They care about you!" Renet said as she excitedly started kicking her feet, hoping that maybe this conversation is what Rachel was talking about and was the surprise that would lead to her uncle's future.

Donnie sighed with a smile.  
"They may support us, but we can't put our trust, our lives in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people we don't know. It's complicated to explain. We are and will be forever grateful for what the people of New York do for us, but we're still ninjas. We still live in the shadows. That's why there are no workers here, because we can't be seen. But you should be happy about that" Donnie said.  
Renet titled her head to the side.  
"Why?"  
"Because that means that we can dedicate more of our time towards you" he said as he hugged her once more, something that he was more prone to doing ever since the children had entered his life.  
"And Keno to, right?"  
"Oh of course Keno to! We would never leave him out" Donnie said as he rested his chin on top of the small girls head.  
"Good. Oh! A shooting star!" Renet exclaimed.  
"That's a plane" Donnie said as he leaned back and laid down in the hammock.  
"What about that one?" she asked.  
"Another plane."  
"Man I can't catch a break" she said as she flopped backwards.

The two continued to look up at the actual stars for the rest of the night until they had both fallen asleep in the hammock and needed to be carried in by the others.

Renet decided to drop the questions for now (Donnie wasn't the only uncle she asked interesting questions to). She knew what was in store for everyone in her family, so she decided to leave the topic alone. That and if she began asking too many questions then she might change things in a bad way, so she chose to keep quiet. However, right now she was screaming in excitement while she was riding on a jet ski with her youngest turtle uncle.

She could see her mother holding onto her father's arm for dear life in fear that something was going to happen to their daughter, but she knew her Uncle Mikey deserved more credit than that. This was one of her favorite things about her youngest mutant uncle. While the other three said it wasn't safe for her to be out on a jet ski, Mikey knew his boundaries and knew he could keep her safe. He knew how to have fun without being so paranoid. This was also due to him having incredible reflexes. There had been a few times that Renet had been down to the lair and had the opportunity to watch her uncles spar from afar and while Mikey joked around A LOT, he did pay attention and was always alert. Granted, sometimes him being alert kicked in at the very last second, but she lost track of how many times his brothers thought they were about to win the match and then Mikey dodged at the last second, as if getting a second wind and becoming twice as skilled as before. He was the same way with physical activities.

When they were all on the water slides, Mikey was the one who went down with her so that he would be right there in case something went wrong and she got scared and couldn't swim. Mikey was the one to help her learn how to boogie board and feel comfortable in the water. Mikey was the one who taught her how to do basic rolls and flips on the trampolines near the game room. There was so much that Mikey helped her learn and feel comfortable with, and more than anything, Mikey trusted her.  
He made it very clear when they were getting ready to ride the jet ski that she would have to sit relatively still so that she wouldn't fall off (even though they also twisted the clips on her life jacket so that she was literally strapped to him) and that she needed to hold onto a small handle in the front so that she could hold onto something tightly. He explained to her what to do if they tipped and that in order for her to ride with him then she had to follow the rules. While the others weren't so sure if Renet would be okay with all of this at such a young age, Mikey trusted that Renet would follow the rules and he believed that she would be able to handle the fast speeds of the Jet Ski, and right now the child was extremely grateful for his trust in her.

"Let's go faster!" she shouted.  
"What?! We're already going so fast that we passed everyone else twice!" Mikey announced with a laugh.  
"I love feeling the wind in my hair" the child said as she turned her head side to side.  
"Then you'll love this, hold on tight!" he said as he sped up to an upcoming wave and made the jet ski jump off the water some.  
Of course Renet was howling with laughter. She was enjoying every second of this action packed adventure she was currently on.  
The group was following a course that was set up further out into the water. Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all had their own jet ski. Casey was riding with April, which he had no complaints about holding onto her while she drive, and then Kris and Sam each had their own as well. Vern was driving a jet ski as well with Irma holding onto him tightly from behind.  
"Ohhhhh we're gonna pass grammy!" Renet said, lightly kicking her legs from the fun of passing others on the speedy water vehicle.  
"Let's go!" Mikey said, swiveling and swerving quickly throughout the course until minutes later they made a sharp turn and passed by the others.  
"YESSSSSS we're winning!" Renet exclaimed.  
"Hehe, let's go splash Uncle Raph" Mikey whispered, and he couldn't help but laugh at the adorable yet wicked face the child made in agreement with his claim.  
The two sped up some and as they made their turn, splashed the heck out of Raphael.  
"Argghhhh I'm gonna get you back for this, just wait!" Raph bellowed.  
Renet, who now knew more about how her sometimes grumpy uncle acted, knew that he would not actually hurt her (maybe get a little rough with Mikey though) and giggled at his reaction.  
Renet then gasped and began to squirm.  
"What's up tatter tot?" Mikey asked.  
"I gotta pee" she said.  
"Well then let's park and I'll run you inside" he said. He double checked behind him on both sides and then drove away from the course. He carefully pulled up to the side of the dock and then turned off the jet ski.  
"What happened?" Jay called from the side.  
Mikey scooped Renet up so that she was now sitting on his shoulder, and as he ran he screamed out "we're taking a pee break!"  
Renet giggled when she saw her parents sigh, and also Sensei shaking his head at his son's silly remark.

The two made their way into the gigantic house so that Renet could 'use the potty,' and she almost made it…but she was a few seconds short. She was potty trained and could use the bathroom by herself, but she had waited too long and it was a decently long run back to the house, even if they were using the bathroom outside by the pool.  
Luckily, there was also a shower in this rather large bathroom.  
"Looks like we'll have to get you cleaned up before we head back outside. You can't go back and swim in a peed in bathing suit. That only works if you're surrounded by the ocean" he teased, trying to make her feel better.  
He then realized that the young girl was beginning to cry.  
"Oh no. What's wrong?" he asked in concern.  
"I peed myself like a baby" she said as a few tears drizzled down her cheeks.  
Mikey sat down criss cross and pulled the child over towards him and gave her a hug.  
"Hey, it happens sometimes. I used to wait until the last second as a kid all the time, so I had a lot of accidents when I was even older than you" he said as he gently pat her on the back.  
Renet then took a step back so she could face him.  
"Really?!"  
"Mhmmmm, really-really. Of course my brothers always teased me about it, but that's just what brothers do."  
"Will….will they tease me?" she asked, her face growing sad once again just from the thought alone.  
"What? Of course not! But, if it makes you feel any better, I'll keep this a secret between the two of us" he said with an honest smile.  
Renet then nodded her head as a few more tears spilled from her eyes.  
"Now let's get you showered up and out of these bottoms. There's towels outside so I can always wrap you up in one so no one knows you're not wearing bottoms" he said as he began to stand up and make his way over towards the shower.

Mikey knew that his brothers were sensitive to things like giving Renet a bath since she was a girl, but he knew that most adults were fine with things like this as long as the kids were still very young. Because of this, he helped Renet take off her yucky bathing suit bottoms and he let them soak in the sink while he turned the shower on and let her stand there and rinse off.  
Afterwards, just like he promised, he quickly got a towel from one of the racks outside and wrapped it around the girls waste so that it looked like the towel was being used as her skirt. He walked inside with Renet and lead her up to her room where he helped her change out of her bathing suit.  
"Do you wanna go back to the beach, or do you wanna stay inside?" he asked the girl who was now jumping on the bed.  
"Is it okay if we stay inside?" she asked softly.  
"Of course!" he said as he caught her mid-jump and placed her back on the floor so he could help her get dressed. "And I know exactly where we're going to go" he said.  
The two left the room (Renet quickly latching onto her uncle's hand) and they made their way down towards the trampoline and rock climbing room.

As soon as Mikey opened the door, Renet ran right in and ran towards one of the longer trampolines and instantly began rolling around.  
"Well look at you, our little ninja in training" he said as he walked over and fell backwards onto a trampoline.  
"You really think so?!" she said as she sat up and stared at him.  
"Well yeah. In another life you would totally be kicking butt with us" he said as rolled forward so that now he was next to the child.  
Renet pouted and crossed her arms. "Why can't I fight bad guys with you in this life?" she asked.  
"Because" he said as he pat her head, "you're thinking of things from a kids perspective and have no idea how dangerous and serious being a ninja really is" he said with a smile.  
"But one day I'll grow up and I'll be mature enough to fight. You guys can't save the world forever."  
"Ouch. That's pretty dark" Mikey said.  
"Sorry" Renet said with a saddened expression.  
"Why do you want to be a ninja so badly? Even Sam has other future goals. She's going to be a soccer star and a dancer in the next few years, so she doesn't even want to be a ninja forever. So why are you so dedicated towards becoming one?" he asked gently as he now sat criss cross facing her.  
"I want to keep you all safe" she said, not fully telling him the truth.  
"Awwww but that's our job. Your job is to change our diapers when we get old" he teased as he gently nudged her with his foot.  
This got the girl to smile, along with an 'ewwww' as she ran forward and leaped onto him. And of course the playful uncle rolled backwards with the girl in his arms as she pretended to fight and defeat him.  
15 minutes later the two were in a position where Renet was sitting on Mikey's shell while Mikey groaned and begged for mercy.  
"Pleaseeeeeee let me go! I'm innocent!" Mikey begged, trying to crawl away from the child sitting on his back.  
"See, I could totally save your butt from bad guys" she said, crossing her arms and nodding in confidence.  
"So we're back to that, huh?" he said as he rolled over so that now the child was sitting on his stomach.  
"I'll never back down" Renet teased.  
"Well how about this? When you're my age, then I'll train you so that you can become a ninja and save everyone. Okay?" he asked, putting his hand out for a fist bump.  
'You're going to train me way sooner than that, but I'll play along with this for now' the child thought to herself.  
"Okay" Renet replied while following through with the fist bump. She then looked over towards the rock wall. "Will you help me climb that before my parents get back?"  
"Girl I've been waiting for you to ask. But remember, you have to follow my rules. Okay?"  
"Got it!" Renet exclaimed as she rolled to her side and then began to run over towards the rock wall, but then stopped and turned around and ran back to her uncle so she could give him a big hug.  
"Awwww, what's this for?" he asked as he snuggled his chin against the top of the girls head.  
"Thank you. For trusting me, and for believing in me. Everyone else still sees me as a child, but you trust me more than they do. That and you can keep secrets. One day I'm going to owe you a lot of favors" she teased.  
Mikey then kneeled down in front of the child.  
"You know why I treat you differently from everyone else?"  
"Why?"  
"Because even though I'm 17, people treat me like a baby to. I'm literally the same age as my brothers, but because I was the last to be born they see me as the baby. Honestly, that's why I act the way I do sometimes, because that's how they all view and treat me. But I'm a lot more than the kid they think I am. And I believe that you're a lot more than just a typical 4 year old. They're going to see you as a child no matter how old you are. I'll always be a baby brother, just like how you'll always be the little girl that joined our family as a daughter and as a niece."  
"You're really smart, and really insightful Uncle Mikey. I'll never forget that, I promise" the girl said as she put her pinky forward.  
"And I'll never forget about your feelings either kiddo" he said as he completed the 'pinky promise.' "Now where on earth did you learn the word insightful at your age?" he asked as he walked with her over towards the rock wall.

The ironic part of this conversation between the two was that Mikey had no idea that one day he would train Renet to help do incredible things, and Renet had no idea how important it would be that she could trust her uncle more than anyone else in the family. Neither one knew of what was in store for their future. But one day, they would look back on this conversation and laugh at the irony. For now, they were just worried about climbing this rock wall before anyone found out.


	7. Chapter 52

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #52

***Saturday, March 19****th****, 2016. Last day of family vacation* **

****All throughout the week the women had been swimming/boogie boarding/jet skiing in the ocean, jumping on trampolines, climbing rock walls, working out in the gym, sliding down water slides, playing various sports, having dance parties, playing video games (some of which were very interactive) and so much more throughout the week. After spending a week completing multiple physical activities, the ladies in the group wanted one night where they could all just kick back and relax by themselves.  
They were outnumbered after all. There were 4 women and there were 9 guys (not including the children) so they had been keeping up with all the active men in the group, so they needed a break. Even Sam agreed that a nice relaxing girls night was needed, so the women decided to get comfortable in their bathing suits and hangout in one of the vacant rooms.

It was the last night that everyone was on vacation, so the ladies wanted to hang out in one of the hot tubs in one of the vacant rooms where they could all be alone. All the guys had had their boy's night the previous night, and there were multiple times where it had happened to just be groups of guys all throughout the trip, so the men agreed to babysit and hangout where they wouldn't interfere with the women's night off.

Of course, new mother Brenda was constantly worrying about her children.  
"Should I call and see how they're doing?" she asked as she eyed her phone from afar.  
"Honey, your husband is amazing, and he is surrounded by men who are also amazing. The kids are perfectly fine. I just know it" Irma reassured.  
"Still-"  
"Oh my god mom sit back and relax!" Sam teased her sister in law.  
"I thought I was your mom" April teased.  
"You're both my mom. You're secret lesbian lovers and you both raise me behind Jay's back. Although, Casey has been playing an older brother role. Never mind, April you're my older sister and Casey's my brother in law, which means Brenda's my step mom" Sam said through a wide smile.  
"Guess that still makes me grammy" Irma said.  
Each woman had a mixed drink in their hand (though they weren't going to tell the guys that Sam was drinking underage) and they were having a hell of a good time joking and holding conversations they could never have when the guys were around.

"So grammy" Brenda teased, "how are things between you and lover boy?" she asked as she took a sip of her drink.  
"Stopppppp" she said as she gently nudged her daughter. "He's sweet, but he has no idea how I feel."  
"Then tell him" Sam said bluntly.  
"Pshh, you're one to talk" Irma said with her hand on her hip.  
Sam shot the woman a funny yet confused look while she was drinking her own mixed drink.  
"I'm sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?" Sam said, sassily moving her body as she asked her question.  
"Well you haven't told Kris how you feel, so how do you have any right telling me how to handle my love life?" Irma asked with a laugh.  
"Oh Sam doesn't like Kris" April cut in.  
Irma and Brenda both turned towards each other and shot each other evil grins.  
"Oh really?" Brenda asked. "And why not?"  
"Really? We're gonna dip into the dark past that we all already know about?" Sam asked.  
"Man, I shipped the hell out of you two" Irma said, playfully pouting in the corner of the hot tub.  
"Are you sure that's the only reason why you don't like Kris anymore?" Brenda asked.  
"Okay what's happening? And ew stop looking at me like that" Sam said as she saw the weirdly wicked smiles on the two Asian women's faces. She then turned and saw that April had the same smile on her face.  
"Okay you people need to start talking! I'm utterly confused."  
"You like one of the turtle boys" Brenda said bluntly.  
Sam leaned forward awkwardly as if asking 'what the fuck.'  
"I'm sorry, but I think I misheard you. You did not just state that I like one of MY BROTHERS" she emphasized.  
"Oh come on! The way you are with each of them, you have to have a crush on one of them. There's no way you don't at least like one of them!" Irma stated.  
"Wow Irma, tell us how you really feel" Sam said, resting her chin on her hand as her elbow rested on her knee.  
"She's not the only one who thinks that" April said, looking off in the distance as she stirred her straw in her drink.  
"You've gotta be kidding me. Not you to! Come on April you know me and the guys are like family!"  
"Hey I'm not the one you need to convince" April said, biting her lip, knowing that her comment was going to get the teen riled up.  
"Okay. I need reasons. Key details here people. What the hell has happened that I MUST be in love with ONE. OF. MY. BROTHERS" Sam emphasized, throwing her hands out in front of her (in a 'what are those type stance) as she stated each word at the end of her sentence.  
"Well ladies, who would like to go first?" April asked.  
"Meeeee!" Brenda stated as she raised her hand up. "So I think you and Donnie have a connection."  
"How? Just, how?" Sam groaned, sliding down some and leaning her back along the side of the hot tub.  
"Because you two were literally cuddling the other night."  
"What?" Sam asked as she sat up some.  
"He was laying in the hammock and you were literally cuddled up with him. His arm was around you and everything! And you looked very comfortable snuggled up next to him as well. Explain yourself" Irma stated sternly, although it was obvious that she was teasing the younger woman.  
Sam just sat there for a few seconds, speechless.  
"Is…is that not normal?" she asked honestly.  
"NO!" Irma stated.  
"I second that no" Brenda said.  
"But, that's just like, what I do with all of them."  
Now all three women were staring at Sam with wide eyes.  
"What? They're like brothers but they're also just guy friends. Like every once in a while that just happens. They're literally my best friends, I feel comfortable with all of them. They wouldn't do anything inappropriate" Sam said with a genuine and innocent smile.  
"Girl that's not the point! You can't just cuddle with all the guys you know!" Brenda announced.  
"But I only do that with the four of them. It's usually only when I have nightmares, and that's usually because the nightmares are about them."  
"Really? What happens?" Irma asked.  
"Ummmmm I've followed through with killing Raph, I have-"  
Irma then literally spit her drink. "WHAT?! Followed through?! When did you try to kill him?"  
"Remember? When I went all depressed once the turtles learned I was in the Foot? And then Raph when berserk and that made me go hulk times ten on his ass?"  
"Ahhhh right. Continue" Irma waved on.  
"Um, I have nightmares that Raph fights back and hurts me, I have nightmares where the others get revenge because I hurt Raph, I have nightmares where I hurt all of them, things like that. But they're all really understanding whenever they happen. All four of them are just really great supportive guys."  
"Yet you like none of them" Brenda sneered.  
"Nope" Sam said with the click of her tongue. "So that's really the only reason you think I like Donnie?"  
"You tease him a lot" Brenda added.  
"I tease them all a lot."  
"She does" April nodded.  
"What about Raph?" Irma asked. "I'm tied between whether or not you like him or Leo."  
"What the hell how?!" Sam laughed as she slumped back once again.  
"Because he's like, calmer around you. Like obviously now we all know that he's really a good guy, but he's scary when you first meet him. Granted he also knows that and once he gets to know people and once people get to know him in return, he is a sweet and fun guy. But he's like, different with you."  
"Because I'm a cold bitch who will put him in his place. April does the same thing and he respected her way before I came around."  
"That's true to" April said, tilting and nodding her head. "Which is something I'm now just realizing."  
"What?" Sam asked.  
"He treats women respectfully regardless, but he's tougher on women with strength of some sort who aren't afraid of him. Then when those women prove how tough they really are, he changes and respects them quickly. He was kind of nasty with me when I first met the guys on that roof top and snapped their picture. I displayed myself as a woman who wasn't afraid to go snooping to get information for my news reports and he made it clear he didn't like that. If they had saved me from a robber then knowing him he would have reacted to me in a way that was the opposite of how he actually reacted. Like he just wanted to get the heck out of there and leave me there by myself, but once I proved that I cared about them and would fight to help them out, he completely changed."  
"Buttttt that doesn't mean you're in love with him!" Sam said, taking a huge gulp of her drink and placing the empty cup to the side.  
"Dang slow down. Youngest one of us to" Brenda teased.  
"Oh I'm gonna need more than that to get through this conversation. And we're only two brothers in."  
"Leo's turn!" Brenda announced.  
"Go for it. Enlighten me."  
"He's nice to you" Irma said.  
"You say that a lot when you're tipsy" Sam said, the sass emanating from the way she blinked her eyes.  
"But you have to know what I mean! Like he's soft with you."  
"Yeah, like at their birthday dinner last year. He got upset over something and of course after talking with you for a while, he returned, good as new. As if he was never upset in the first place" Brenda added.  
"Gee, sounds like something, I dunno, a sister might do" Sam replied with wide and annoyed eyes.  
"But it happens so often. Oh but that happens with you and Raph to!" Brenda added, her tipsiness adding to her random bursts of excitement.  
"Because they know they can trust me! They each have literally told me that they can confide in each other when they're really upset about something, but minor things they talk to me about. You know, the whole stereotypical thing about guys not talking to guys about their problems unless they're THAT upset about something and it's literally mentally killing them."  
"See it's tough to narrow it down!" Irma exclaimed. "They all talk to you like you're 'one of the guys' and tease you and wrestle and stuff like you're a guy. But then I've heard them be kind and gentle with you as well. They help you when you need it, but they prank you as well. Ughhhh maybe you're just dating all of them" Brenda sighed.  
"Yup. I just love mutants so much that I can't keep my hands off of them" Sam said, throwing her head back and taking another long sip of a wine cooler.  
"Alright, who's gonna tell me why I like Mikey?" Sam asked, beginning to feel tipsy herself. "Oh let me guess, because he's my partner in crime, right? Because he's my best friend and the reason I'm still alive? Literally, since he knew the word to trigger the mutagen to enter my body. Oh! Or because he was the only one that defended me when everyone else turned on me, although that wasn't their fault. I did almost destroy Raph's face. Oh and there's the fact that-"  
"You were holding hands with him when you came back to life" April softly cut in.

Sam froze, staring down at the water in front of her. In the corner of her eye she could see Brenda and Irma pursing their lips as they heard the new information.  
"Well. That one was unexpected" Sam stated bluntly. "I didn't realize anyone had even noticed that" Sam said as she slowly turned her head towards April. "Guess you've been holding onto that information for a while now, huh?" Sam asked.  
April nodded her head. "I was the only one who didn't join the group hug, so I happened to see it from afar. I never said anything because I didn't want to make things awkward…and I was interested to see what resulted afterwards" April said, taking a small sip of her drink.  
"EXPLAIN NOW!" Brenda said with a wide smile.  
"What's to explain? My best friend had saved me for what felt like the millionth time that night! I was happy to be alive and I was grateful for what he had done for me."  
"What were the other ways that he had saved you?" Irma asked, genuinely interested in the details that she did not fully know about.  
"Well…" Sam paused, recollecting everything from what now would have been just under 2 years ago. "He put his trust in me and I was able to prevent Karai from hurting them and then myself as I launched a whip at him but then froze it in time and OH that's also a nightmare! That that tactic failed. Uh, he jumped in front of me when a bunch of purple dragons started shooting at me. He helped me walk to safety when I was standing on a tiny little rail. And then he was the only one who knew how to bring me back to life, and then he had the guts to try and calm me down when the mutagen first entered my body…why are you all looking at me like that?" Sam asked in an annoyed tone.  
"He likes you" Brenda said with menacing eyes.  
"He's my best friend! He cares about me the same way that the others do! They all treat me the same way. I can list examples where I've had emotional talks with all four of them, when I've teased all four of them, when I've argued with all four of them. You all are fighting for details that are not there! Like I could literally ask all four of them to marry me and they would all say no" Sam said, smiling in frustration as she shook her head.  
The other three women were smiling as a tempting idea swirled inside their minds.  
"Why don't we put this to the test then?" April asked.  
"Hm?" Sam asked, raising her brows at the woman.  
"Let's call each of them up here, one at a time, and ask them to marry you. Right here on the spot" April asked.  
"Oh they're never going to let us have a girl's night ever again" Sam groaned.  
"That's a yes!" Brenda cheered as she grabbed her phone from a side table and texted Leo to come to their room.

A couple minutes later, the leader in blue appeared.  
"Everything okay?"  
"Nope" Sam groaned.  
Leo looked confused, and then looked very worried when he saw the look on Brenda's and Irma's faces.  
"Ask the question Samantha" Brenda said in a coy tone.  
"*sigh* Hey Leo let's get married. Like tomorrow. What do you say?" Sam asked.  
Leo narrowed his eyes at the women. "Are you all drunk?"  
"Answer the question" Brenda stated.  
"That's a yes" Sam stated.  
"Okay. So why are exactly are we getting married?"  
"Because I just love you so much. Can't you see that?" Sam said with a very blank, emotionless expression.  
Leo smiled and shook his head.  
"In all due respect, I'd rather not get married. You're not quite my type" Leo stated, a bit of amusement in his voice since he was not expecting to have this conversation ever.  
"Dually noted and youuuu have a type?" Sam asked, her tone changing from annoyed to curious very quickly as she went from avoiding the turtles gaze to looking him straight in the eye and crossing her arms on the side of the hot tub.  
"Have a nice night ladies" Leo said as he smiled and began to walk away.  
"We're having this conversation later!" Sam called after her friend.  
"SEND RAPH!" Irma shouted after him.  
"Oh I will" Leo said. He was very interested to hear from his younger brother after he had his turn dealing with the tipsy bunch.

A couple minutes later, Raph entered the room.  
"Why am I here?" he groaned.  
"Hey Raph!" Sam announced, an annoyed smile displayed on her face. "Wanna get married?"  
"Why?" he asked sourly.  
"Because we're meant to be" Sam said, blinking her eyes.  
"No" he groaned. "Jay know you've been drinking?"  
"They made me do it!" Sam pointed to the women sitting across from her.  
"Cool. Can I go now?"  
"Man! No one wants to marry you Sam. My heart hurts" Brenda said as she pouted and slumped back some.  
"Ahh, so that explains Leo's smirking face. Jerk" Raph mumbled with a frown, annoyed that his brother knew what was in store for him and decided not to tell him a damn thing.  
"So why don't you want to marry Sam, Raph" Brenda asked with a coy smile.  
"Oh here we go" Sam said as she rolled her eyes.  
Raph shrugged. "She's cool, but she's not my type."  
"What the hell?! You have a type to?!" Sam announced, splashing her hands in the water.  
"Heh, we can't tell you everything. Anyway, I'm out. I'll send Donnie" Raph said as he left the room.

"Dude, this sucks! I didn't know they had types! The only one I know has a type is Mikey and that's because he's made his type extremely clear!"  
"So what's his type then?" April asked curiously.  
"Obviously curvy women that are outgoing and wear little to nothing" Sam said with a chuckle.  
"And how do you know this?" April asked, crossing her arms in front of her.  
"Because he's a total flirt. He flirts with you every time he sees you. That's why…" Sam trailed off, realizing she just started a conversation she did not want to have.  
"FINISH. THE. STATEMENT" Brenda demanded.  
Sam pursed her lips. "Do I have to?"  
Brenda calmed herself when she saw how truly uneasy this made Sam feel.  
"No. Of course not. I'm sorry Sam."  
Sam sighed. "Can I trust that you guys will act normal if I tell you?"  
"Of course" Irma said. "What's bothering you."  
"Well…there was this time when I entered the lair and Mikey was flirting it up with April and he was telling you something" she said as she turned towards April "and I could just sense the change in his expression when he saw me and knew that he had to end the conversation so that he could spend time with me, since knowing him, he would have thought it was rude to ignore me and continue to flirt. So, because of that, I purposefully kinda leave the room when I sense he's getting flirty with you so that I don't get in his way. Like he's literally told me that he knows you're like a sister and he would never go overboard and be rude, but he's also teased that it's just in his nature."  
"Why have you never told me this?" April asked, truly upset that Sam had hid this information from her for so long.  
Sam shrugged. "It just wasn't important. I mean I know it's just who he is-"  
"But he did something that upset you. Does he even know?" April asked.  
"No!" Sam responded within a second of the question being asked. "You can't tell ANY OF THEM that I just told you all that! That stays between the four of us. Please don't tell anyone" Sam said.  
This was the first time the women could sense that Sam was really upset with something that had been discussed that night, and they knew that this was something that truly bothered her.  
"We won't tell a soul sweetie. We'll take it to the grave" Brenda said soothingly.  
"But, don't you think he would want to know?" April asked. "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you."  
Sam sent her a sad smile. "I know he would never mean to hurt me, and knowing him he didn't realize what he did or how I felt when it happened. But I feel like it would make things weird between the two of us, and I don't want him getting any wrong ideas. And I mean he's allowed to be flirty and playful. Who am I to say something that would make him change who he is? That's not fair-"

Sam stopped talking once the door opened. Donnie entered the room very awkwardly.  
"I've been informed this will be an awkward encounter" he stated as he slowly swung his arms back and forth.  
"Yup! We're getting married. That cool with you?" Sam asked bluntly.  
Donnie shook his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"  
"I love you, so love me back!" Sam stated.  
"How drunk are you?" he asked with a laugh.  
"Geez, I ask men to marry me and they all accuse me of being drunk. Such compliments" she said as she stuck her tongue out at him.  
"This isn't a real proposal…right?" he asked.  
"Of course not! These drunk ditz's made me ask" Sam said as she rolled her eyes. "And I swear if you say you have a 'type' that you haven't told me about then I'm going to kick your ass along with your older brothers."  
"Well, I'll sleep with one eye open then" Donnie said with a smile.  
"Motherfucker" Sam mumbled.  
"Is that all the random for the day?" Donnie asked.  
"Yup! Send the baby brother in!" Brenda said.  
Donnie sighed and left the room, feeling more comfortable now that that question was out of the way.

"So back to what you were saying" Brenda stated. "Do you really think it would be that bad if you told him of something that happened once?" she asked.  
"Well, he made that face once…but that's because I've prevented myself from being put in a situation like that again, hehe."  
"Sam…" April started, "is there anything I can do to help?"  
Sam tilted her head to the side. "Help with what?"  
"You know, your crush on Mikey" April stated.  
"No, no-no. There is no crush. Just not wanting to get in a guy friends way. That's all" Sam stated quickly.  
"Sam-"  
"Look, it's not a romantic thing, it's just one of those odd situations that come up when having guy friends. It's happened to me back in the day as kids as well. There's obviously times where the guys are going to talk about how much they like the pretty girls that are the opposite of me, and usually I talk to the guys about it as well because I'm cool like that. I don't mind hearing guys share their feelings about women, and usually I add my input and advice to give to them as well. It's just odd when you're in the way of them flirting. Like, it's one of those things where as the female friend you have to know when to respect the guys needs and feelings and stuff, you know?"  
"Are you sure? You can be honest here sweetie. You have our support" April reassured, with Brenda and Irma nodding in unison to these claims.  
Sam smiled.  
"Thank you. But I swear it's just one of those situations. I know that's who he is and as his best friend I respect those boundaries. Hell, I'd bet money that the first thing he does when he gets here is compliment everyone in some way and he'll come in here all energetic unlike the other three. That's just who he is."

And right on cue, Mikey entered.  
"Wassup ladies? I must say you all look lovely tonight" he said, strutting into the room and sitting on the edge of the tub so that he could place his feet in (he made sure to inform them that his feet were clean before doing so).  
"4th times a charm" Sam mumbled to herself, "Michelangelo, will you marry me?" she asked with literally no emotion as she continued to face the women in the hot tub rather than turn and face the man in the room.  
Mikey sensed this and was confused as to what was happening, but shrugged and answered honestly with an "okay."  
Sam paused. "What?" she asked. She squinted her eyes in confusion, but she was sitting at an angle where as she faced the rest of the women in the hot tub, Mikey couldn't see her expression, so he continued to answer honestly.  
"I mean hey if you're asking, I'm not gonna say no."  
"Explain!" Brenda stated, crossing her arms.  
'Heh, women are interesting when they're tipsy in packs' Mikey thought to himself.  
"Well" he began, "Sam and I have a lot of similar interests. She actually listens to me unlike my brothers" he said as he rolled his eyes. "Sam trusts me, she knows I'm not actually a ditz…yeah I'd pull a Phoebe and Joey and marry her in the future. But I'm confused as to why I'm being asked this when Sam can date literally anyone."  
"Okay first, what does Phoebe and Joey mean?" April asked.  
"Okay so there's this episode of Friends where they talk about how if they reach a certain age and they're not married then Phoebe and Joey would get married…oh right she said she would marry Ross to" he said, looking upwards as he tried to remember how the episode played out.  
"What do you mean I can date literally anyone?" Sam cut in rather harshly, now turning towards Mikey as she spoke.  
"Ugh, we have to have this conversation again?" he groaned. "You're obviously pretty Sam. Tomboy's have attractive qualities to. Have some confidence in yourself" he said as he turned to leave the room.  
"Well, I hope you all continue to have a fun night ladies" he said with a wink, "I'm gonna head back down to the dance party we were holding downstairs."  
He then shut the door behind him and the room grew silent.

"We have a winner" Brenda whispered into her glass.  
"You okay?" April asked in concern.  
Sam chuckled. "I'd also bet money that he thinks all his brothers answered that question in a similar way that he just did. If he knew his brothers answered differently, then he wouldn't have said what he just did.  
"But he spoke honestly and he said yes" Irma said softly. "Are you okay with that?"  
"He's a flirt, so that literally meant nothing. Am I allowed to explain to them later why we asked them that question?" Sam asked.  
The women nodded. It was only fair that the boys knew why they had just been teased the way they had been.  
"SO let's talk about Casey Jones" Sam said, hoping that the conversation would leave her and that the spotlight would move onto anyone else. Especially since she wasn't sure what she would say if she was to continue on with the interrogation.

'Why the hell did he say yes?' Sam thought to herself. 'He doesn't like women like me! I don't wear booty shorts, I don't have big boobs, I don't wear make-up. He's never been attracted to me and he only said that to be nice. He's never complimented my looks before. The guys probably told him what we were going to ask him. That has to be it! This was his way of getting back at me for allowing us to get at him! Well, in that case his surprise answer was definitely a shock and I deserved it. I'll have to make sure I apologize to him later today' she thought.

And that's exactly what she did. Later that night/into the early morning, the turtles were enjoying the sauna on the second floor for the last time since later that evening they would be heading home. This was when Sam joined the guys and informed them of the tipsy women that insisted she must be in love with one of them, hence having to ask each of them about marriage.  
"Well, twas an interesting experience" Donnie teased. "Hopefully none of us offended or upset you" he said, a look of guilt on his face.  
Sam clapped her hands together. "What?" she asked.  
"Well I'm sure we all answered the same way" Raph stated. "You know we all care about you, but I can't imagine any of us saying yes. No offense or anything" he said, also now feeling a little guilty because of how he responded earlier.  
Sam could sense Mikey looking away in a panic, now realizing he was the only idiot that said yes.  
Sam smiled. "Guys, I knew each of you was going to say no. In all due respect, I would have responded the same way if I was randomly asked the same question. I've told you all before that you have attractive qualities, but that doesn't mean I want to marry any of you."  
"So you're sure you're not upset about anything?" Leo asked.  
"Swear on my life I'm fine" she said.  
The three older brothers sighed in relief.  
"Well if that's all settled then, I'm gonna head up" Leo said as he stood up and got out of the water.  
"Same" Raph said rolling his shoulders.  
"You staying?" Donnie asked.  
Sam nodded. "I don't relax like this often, so I'm gonna stay a little bit longer."  
"Same" Mikey stated smoothly. "Besides, two people means the other can't fall asleep."  
"Good call" Sam said with a nod.  
"Alright, see you both in the morning then" Leo said, and the three brothers exited the room, leaving Sam and Mikey alone in the sauna together.

"Uh, hehe, thanks for lying for me back there" Mikey said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down at the water.  
Sam smiled. "Of course, you know I always have your back. Plus, I know it was random and on the spot which I'm sure played into your answer" she said as she nudged his arm.  
"What do you mean?" he asked.  
"Well if you knew what your brothers had said then I know you wouldn't have responded the way you did. You were just being nice because that's the kind of guy you are. I know you would never intentionally do anything to hurt me, so I know you said yes because you would have felt bad to turn me down so suddenly. If you had time to think about what was asked then I know you would have responded in a different way" she said with a genuine and reassuring smile.  
"Yeah of course" he stated, "I just didn't want to offend you or anything. I wasn't lying about the pretty part though, you do need to be more self-confident" he stated, trying to make the girl laugh and help her maintain this comfortable aura between the two of them.  
"Thanks, and I know. Ugh this got hotter way faster than I thought" Sam groaned.  
"Wait, what?" Mikey asked nervously.  
"The sauna. I know it's supposed to hot, but this is getting unbearable. Wanna head over to the indoor pool instead? The water is nice and warm since it's indoors" she stated. "Race you to the slide" she said with a wicked grin.  
"It's ON!" Mikey shouted as he leapt up from his seat and dashed towards the door.

The two then spent the rest of the early morning swimming in the pool, teasing each other and talking as if the awkward situation had never happened.  
And that's how it would stay for a while, since this situation made it clear that neither of the two was interested in the other.  
The other three women, however, weren't so sure that nothing was there, but they promised to keep everything witnessed and heard in that room that night a secret, and decided that they too would 'play ninja' and observe what would unfold from the shadows.


	8. Chapter 53

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #53

***Monday April 25****th****, 2016. Outside the Blair University***

****Sam pushed open the door, well, barely managed to get herself through the tiny crack she was able to make when pushing the door with her shoulder.  
She was about to keep walking, but then she groaned.  
"Ughhhhh I have to wait. Leo's late" she said as she collapsed onto a nearby bench.

Sam was exhausted and just wanted to walk herself home, but she knew she would never hear the end of it if she did that.  
She was almost done her first year of college, and this current semester was so close to the end that she could feel it, but with all the work she needed to complete for 5 classes and then adding dance rehearsals and soccer practices on top of that, she was barely ever sleeping.  
She refused to say this to anyone though. She didn't want anyone freaking about her health or safety or whatever, so she would secretly walk home from the campus library or from rehearsals and practices all by herself.  
She had been doing this since her first month from her first semester and everything had been fine, but then there was one night where some douchebag jocks decided to change that.

Sam had left the one of the dorm buildings after working with a few other classmates on an upcoming project at the time, and a few jocks decided they were going to mess with her and try to convince her to go back with them to their dorm.  
Of course, Sam was ready to kick their asses, but she also couldn't use her powers and reveal her abilities to these guys, so she could only fight with her regular hand to hand combat skills. She also left her tonfa at home because…well honestly she was so involved with daily things that she was completely forgetting to sneak them around with her. It wasn't her best moment, and while she was able to hold her own, she got bruised up a bit.  
Things would have been fine, she knew how to use concealer to cover up some cuts and bruises…but then one of the jocks, being flat out drunk, grabbed a baseball bat and whacked her knee and made her collapse. When she tried to get up, she was punched in the face.  
There must have been a greater power watching over her that night because when she woke up, not only did she realize that she had a bloody nose, but she realized that there were four mutant turtles tying up the group of 7 jocks writing 'rapist' and 'predator' on their foreheads in Sharpie.  
While Sam was eternally grateful for their help, she knew then and there that she was figuratively fucked.

Of course, being the concerned brothers they were, they informed Jay immediately and all 5 had a talk with her where they learned that she had been walking home by herself multiple different times throughout her college experience.  
Well, that was never going to happen ever again. So they made it very clear to Sam that if she stayed out at a time where the sun had gone down, she MUST walk home with one of the turtles. Of course, if she walked home with a group or another guy friend, that was fine, but if not, then she needed to contact the guys.  
Overall she didn't mind this, especially since she almost never saw them anymore. She texted each of them throughout the weeks, but it could be hours or even days before she was able to reply back because of how busy she was. Moments like this made her wish to a certain extent that she could escape the real world and just live underground with them all the time. It would be much easier and she would much rather be scouting for criminals and the Foot than completing tests and writing papers.  
Honestly, if it wasn't for soccer and dance then she probably wouldn't even be in college. She was interested in a vast variety of topics, but nothing that she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life towards. Knowing this, she didn't have any objections about having to walk home with one of the guys. Sometimes they came in groups, but usually they would walk her home one on one so that they could actually spend some quality time with their sister. Of course, this meant that it took even longer for them to see her since she didn't need an escort home every night, but it had become a fun occasion that each of the brothers was always looking forward to.

There were some annoying parts of the deal though, tonight's dilemma being one of them.  
Sam was dead tired and honestly could fall asleep on the bench she was on right now…which now made her realize that she was laying down and not sitting up.  
She quickly sat up and then grabbed the sides of her head. Sitting up that fast from embarrassment was making her head spin and see stars. Now she felt like her body was shaking…wait…something was shaking.  
Sam began patting different parts of her body as she searched for her phone and then found it in a jacket pocket.  
"Huh?" she said dully and emotionless as she answered the phone.  
_"Hey. I'm at the spot. Walk down the street some. I'll be in the alley way" _Leo stated through the phone.  
"Uh-huh" Sam said, nodding as if Leo could actually see her.  
She then stood up and began to walk down the stairs…and the quickly regretted that as she stumbled and held onto the railing for dear life as she carefully dragged her feet down the stairs, never actually lifting them from the ground because she knew that would make her trip and fall on her face.  
After what felt like forever, she finally reached the meeting spot where Leo was hiding in the shadows. Well, Sam thought he was in the shadows and started calling out to no one.  
Leo then jumped down behind her and made Sam jump and stumble, luckily being caught by Leo himself before Sam fell.  
"What is wrong with you?" he asked, confused and concerned.  
"You, you weren't over there?" Sam said, pointing and turning multiple times to the shadows where she assumed Leo was hiding.  
Leo shook his head and smirked.  
"Man you need to get home and sleep."  
"Noooooo I need to study for my test in two days. I don't have time to study before the test because I have rehearsals on the same day and then I have a paper to write that I haven't even started and then I have a game tomorrow night" Sam groaned, as she then fell forward, without realizing she was falling at all.  
Leo caught her and then gently pushed her back so that she was standing up straight again.  
"Man you touch people a lot, like whoa" Sam mumbled.  
"Oh you're one to talk" Leo said with eyes wide as he turned around. "Come on, you're gonna hurt yourself if you walk home" he said.  
"Ughhhh I don't wanna jump! Too much work!"  
Leo sighed as he then crouched down lower.  
"Oh much better" Sam said as she climbed onto Leo's back.  
"Hold on tight" he said.

He then removed a nearby manhole cover and climbed down the ladder. He continued to carry Sam until eventually she had a little bit more energy and insisted that she walk home.  
"So how have trainings been? Since I never even get to train anymore" she pouted.  
"They're good. Renet apparently insists on watching us train as much as she possibly can now and is pretty much in the lair with us every free moment she gets on the weekends" he said with a chuckle.  
"Does she actually do anything?" Sam asked.  
"Of course not. The kid will be 5 this Thursday, we wouldn't let her do anything dangerous like that even if her parents gave her permission."  
"She still did workouts with Raph though, right?"  
"Oh yeah" he said putting his hands behind his head. "She's taking that seriously according to her parents."  
"Kids got grit, you gotta give her that" Sam laughed. "When was the last time you saw the baby?"  
"Hmmmm it's been a couple weeks now. Every once in a while Jay and Brenda ask if we can help babysit and of course we say yes. Without Shredder and his crew around the crime has definitely gone down, so we have a bit more free time."  
"Oh only a bit?" Sam questioned as a means to tease.  
"Well crime doesn't just disappear, especially since there are gangs that are beginning to surface since they think territories are open since Shredder is gone."  
Sam nodded and pursed her lips. "So Donnie hasn't discovered anything in relation to anyone's whereabouts?"  
Leo looked down as he shook his head. "He's been searching for any hint of what Karai or Hun have been up to. He's wondering if they escaped and went back to Japan. If that's the case then he thinks there's an even higher chance that more gangs are going to start appearing since there won't be anyone around to put them in their place. So we haven't had to fight as much as we used to, but there are still moments where he's able to track criminal activity and we've been able to stop it before it gets too serious. Of course chief Vincent is loving us for that" he joked.  
"So she and the cops aren't getting frustrated that you guys are owning them by doing their job?" she asked.  
Leo tensed up some. "Casey said there's been some talk from officers who don't know we exist and they're getting frustrated. But the officers that saw us have been quiet because they understand who we are and what we're doing."  
"That's good…you guys will update if you hear anything about Karai or Hun, or whatever…right?" she asked nervously.  
Leo paused as the two continued to walk. "Yes" he then finally said in a higher voice.  
Sam stopped and threw her hands down at her sides. "DUDE! That's not fair!"  
"What? I said yes" Leo said as he then turned away rather quickly.  
"Yeah, in the most obvious 'we're not going to tell you a damn thing' way" she argued.  
"Well what did you expect? You're in college, you're working towards your future. What are you going to do if Karai just shows up when you're in the middle of taking a test?"  
"Leave!" Sam announced bluntly. "Obviously stopping someone from taking over the world is much more important" she said, jogging so she could now catch up with Leo.

"Sam-"  
"You seriously won't keep me updated?" she said, a hurt look displayed on her face.  
"You know we'll always provide you with information to keep you safe" Leo said somberly, knowing that wasn't what his friend wanted to hear.  
"But you won't tell me anything in regards to keeping others safe and taking down the serious criminals" she said as she turned and began to walk ahead of him.  
"Are you really getting upset about this? You know you're different from us-"  
"I'm a mutant now to" she said as she swiftly turned back around.  
"Yeah, one with a chance at a life up top. There's a lot of things you have the opportunity to do and I dare you to tell me that that's not what you want" he said sternly.  
"But…fighting with you guys is part of my life, a huge part of my life" she said softly.  
"There will be time for you to fight with us, and if something huge happens then we're going to need you. But until something huge like Kraang or Shredder returning happens, then you need to focus on you. Your life. You future" he said as he put his hand on her shoulder. He looked at her in straight in the eyes as she now tilted her head up. "We're not going anywhere" he said sincerely. "You'll always know where to find us. Fighting with us is always going to be a part of your life, but for you it just can't be every second of your day" he said with a sincere smile.  
Sam couldn't help but smile herself.  
"I just miss…fighting, in a weird way. Which is probably horrible to say" she said, turning her head away from Leo in embarrassment.  
"It's not" he reassured, "your life has been flipped upside down and in every direction possible because of crime and violence. I'm sure it's weird moving on from that and acting like life is normal when you're sitting in a lecture hall with tons of other people that are texting and gossiping."  
"Hmph, it's like you read my mind. Typical for a Jay junior" she teased.  
"That's what brothers do" he said as he threw his arm around her and pulled her down some, as if starting to fight. "Can we go home now?" he asked.  
"Awwww you hate serious talks so much, don't you?" Sam asked in a baby-like voice.  
"Ahh you know how to ruin moments" he teased as he then let her stand back up, just to nudge her out of his way.  
The two continued to bicker and tease all the way until Leo walked Sam back up to her room.  
"Now sleep!" Leo demanded.  
"Heh, not even Jay could make me sleep at a reasonable hour" she said with an evil grin.  
"I will literally spend the night here and will make your life miserable until you sleep" he said with a straight face.  
Sam sighed. "You really mean that, don't you?" she groaned.  
"You bet" he said with a fake smile.  
"Fine!" she said "I guess I'll shower and go to sleep. You know, unless you want to stay and watch that as well since you want to spend the night here so much" she said with a cocky smile as she crossed her arms and leaned against the side of her window frame.  
"If that's what it takes" he said, tilting his head and holding his arms out to the side of him.  
"Well you've grown comfortable" Sam scoffed.  
Leo tilted his head some more. "What?"  
"You used to low-key freak out or like shudder when I made comments like that. Now you're like Raph and Mikey and just roll with it."  
Leo paused for a moment, reminiscing on past times when Sam was still a new part of their life and when she would make comments like this. Did he really react that way?  
"You don't remember reacting that way ever, do you?" she asked.  
He shrugged. "Honestly, no. I mean, we've had so many conversations in the past two years now since it officially has been 2 years and a week today since we all met you."  
"Wow, down to the dot since the time we all punched each other. What a greeting" she said with a laugh.  
"Well Mikey made it clear on the 18th that it had been two years. Man, we were 15 when we met you, we really are strong for putting up with you for so long" he said in playful arrogance.  
"Oh shut up. You all love me! That's why you all stayed in my apartment until 4 a.m. and risked being seen so that you could see me on my birthday a few weeks ago on the 4th."  
"Yeah, I guess you're pretty important. Still sucked we couldn't see you on the 18th though" he said as he pursed his lips.  
Sam displayed the same expression as she looked down. "Yeah. I know. One day college will be over and I can go back to seeing you guys all the time…or I could just drop ou-"  
"Not a chance" Leo said with a glare.  
"Okay, okay" Sam said with her hands up.  
"You're worth waiting for Sam. Like I said, we're not going anywhere. Once you're free for summer break then things will be the same again" Leo reassured.  
"Yeah, but I'm also the most impatient person you've ever met" she said with an apologetic smile.  
"Well, you are older than us. So be the mature 18 year old you should be" he said as he now stood up from the ledge he had been sitting on. "Well, I can tell by the color of your eyes that you're officially getting tired, so I'm gonna head down" Leo said.  
"Wait" Sam called after him as she quickly climbed through her window and then threw her arms around the turtle in blue.  
Leo hugged the girl back, but he couldn't smile while doing so and neither could she. Both knowing that it would probably be a good while before the two saw each other again.  
"Contact us if you ever need anything" he reassured softly.  
"Same with you guys" she said.  
"You better ace your test on Thursday or I'm gonna kick your ass" Leo stated, trying to end the mini reunion on a good note and with a laugh, which he succeeded in gaining.  
"Deal" Sam said as she pulled back and headed into her room. She smiled as she looked through the glass of the window and then shut the curtains, the signal that she was safe and that Leo could officially leave.

The two parted ways, not knowing when they would officially get to see each other again.

***Tuesday April 26****th****, 2016. 2a.m. in the morning***

****Raph hid on top of the balcony, growing more and more annoyed. He had received a text from Kris that he had a few friends who had gotten ridiculously drunk and that he was going to take an Uber with them back to their (the friend's) place to make sure they got home safe. The men's and women's soccer teams for Blair had won against a usually very tough opponent from a rival college, so of course people on both teams and also throughout the university were partying like crazy. Sam had attended this party, convinced by the ladies on her team who encouraged her to go. She decided to go when she knew that people she could trust like Kris would be there, but right now she was drunk out of her mind and had no idea that he was not even still in the building. While Sam loved her teammates, some of them definitely were not the most trustworthy and were a little to hardcore and dangerous in the way they liked to party.  
Knowing this, Kris contacted the guys to let them know of Sam's whereabouts so that they could keep an eye on her. Tonight was Raph's turn to see her so he offered to go, but at the time he didn't realize that meant he would be waiting outside for Sam to leave for hours.

"God this is so annoying" he groaned as she crunched a hand weight in his hand.  
He had been watching from a nearby building so that he could see into the windows and track where Sam was while she was at the party…but after turning away for just a second, he had lost her.  
"Ah, shit" he mumbled as he scanned all the available space of the rooms that was made visible from his position.  
He then looked down below as he saw a woman walk out of the building crying, and his eyes went wide when he saw the woman heading towards a still very busy street even with it being so early in the morning.  
He quickly leapt off the side of the building and then swung himself from the rail outside the window of an apartment and launched himself behind the darker side of a light post where he then launched a bladeless chain sickle that wrapped around the woman and then pulled her back towards a dark alley and as far away from the street as possible.  
Raph sighed a huge sigh of relief after hearing the woman groan, showing that she would be soar and winded, but she would be okay.

He then leapt down and slowly walked over towards where the woman was now laying on her back. He then saw two blue lights begin to glow.  
At first he was very confused, but as he walked closer, the wheel in his head began to turn.  
"Oh come on. Sam?" he asked.  
The lights were now facing him. "How do you know me?" she asked in furry.  
"It's me you idiot" he groaned aloud.  
Sam then stumbled to stand up as she quickly walked up to the turtle and stood eye to eye with him, way too close to his face for Raph's comfort.  
She then took a step back as the blue light faded from her eyes.  
"RAPHHHHH!" Sam shouted as she threw her hands up.  
"Jesus keep quiet" he angrily whispered as he covered her mouth with his hand. "Man you're wasted, aren't you?"  
"Raphhhhh, Kris left without me" Sam whined. "Like, what? What kind of friend does that? You would never do that to me, right?" she said as she slumped against him.  
"Never" he groaned as he picked the girl up and threw her over his shoulder.  
"Whooaaaaa when did you get so strong?" she asked in amazement.  
"When you got so annoying" he mumbled.  
"You have to talk louder! I can't hear you!" she shouted, her lips literally an inch away from the side of his head. Her strength powers kicking in at random moments and making it difficult for Raph to keep a decently comfortable distance between the two of them.  
"Sewer route it is" he said to himself. He was going to walk along some darker streets, but with Sam shouting the way she was then he knew he needed to travel underground where it wouldn't be easy for people to visually spot the shouting voice.

Drunk Sam was definitely…interesting.  
For one, she never shut up. She was talking about her family, then about her friends from the Foot that she still saw throughout each week while she was in college. She talked about how there were 3 women in particular that she had grown close to that weren't in the Foot but were related to friends of hers that were. She talked about soccer and dance and fearing she would fail all her classes even though she busted ass to pass them all the time.  
"Man you talk a lot" he huffed.  
He then turned to her, realizing that for five seconds she had actually remained silent. That's when his eyes went wide as he saw the girl start to cry.  
"You hate me" she said as she began sobbing.  
"Aw man" Raph said, tilting his head back. He had never really dealt with drunk people. Now that he was friends with Casey, he and Mikey had had a few experiences where they gotten a taste of alcohol, but none of them ever got flat out drunk, just a little bit tipsy at times (of course Leo and Donnie never knew about any of this). Because of this, he had no idea how he should act around a drunk person, especially since Casey said that there were different types of drunks.

'Why couldn't she be a sleepy drunk? That would make this much easier' he thought to himself.  
He then realized Sam was beginning to storm off down a tunnel that the group didn't use.  
"Whoa hold up" he said as he went to grab her arm, something a sober Sam wouldn't mind. A drunk Sam however went from sobbing to furious.  
"Don't touch me! Who do you think you are?!" she said as she started slapping his arm.  
Raph was trying not to laugh now. This fighting style was…pretty pathetic. Obviously her powers had shut off for now and Sam was just being, well, an interestingly uncoordinated drunk being. It was comical until Sam's eyes started turning blue and Raph realized that she might start using her powers again, and without restraint.  
"Whoa okay, okay calm down!" he said. "Ughhh, Jay sent me!" he said, trying to get her to calm down.  
"Oh he did? My bad man!" Sam said, her eyes returning to normal in mere seconds.  
"Do you work with him or something?" Sam asked, her eyes dazed and glossy.  
"Yeah. I've been a voice actor in a few different commercials with him. We're also stunt double buddies."  
"Ohhhh were you on The Walking Dead to?! He was the stunt double for Glenn!" Sam announced as she now was following Raph who had tested to see if the loopy woman would follow him if he began to walk away. He never expected he would have to use babysitting tactics on a grown woman.  
"Yeah. But I was a walker stunt double" Raph replied.  
"Oh! Here's my walker audition. Tell me what you think" Sam said as she then started dragging her leg and reaching her arms out and sneering and moaning 'like a zombie.'  
"Oh that's a real winning performance right there" Raph reassured. And this was pretty much the rest of the walk home.

Finally they reached the manhole cover that was in the alleyway right outside her apartment where Raph then offered to carry Sam up to her apartment because she had done such a great job acting all the way home.  
He contacted Donnie as to how to undo the alarms and within a few minutes Raph helped Sam climb through the window and into the room.  
"You hungry or anything?" Raph asked, knowing that Casey sometimes would get the munchies from drinking. That and also learning that it wasn't good to not have any water or food in your stomach when drinking.  
"The opposite actually" Sam said as she began to hold onto her stomach.  
"Ahh come one, come on" he said as he carefully held onto her, one hand on her back and the other on her shoulder, and rushed her to the bathroom where she threw up in the toilet.  
Raph rubbed a hand on her back while Sam sat there for a few more minutes.  
"My stomach is empty now" Sam whispered.  
"Lovely" Raph said, trying not to be too sarcastic and upset the girl again.  
"My breath stinks" Sam said bluntly.  
"Got mouthwash?"  
"Bottom cabinet…do I live here?" Sam asked as she then quickly started turning and looking around the room while she was sitting on the floor.  
"Yeah you live here. Here's the mouthwash. DON'T swallow it!" Raph said as he began to hand her the bottle and then quickly pulled it back.  
"Why? It's alcohol. See. Al-ca-ma-hol" Sam said as she pointed to the word on the bottle.  
"Because you've had a lot of that today. You'll get sick if you drink anymore" Raph said in a mocking tone.  
Of course, being drunk, Sam stared at him with wide eyes as if he was a genius.  
"You're smart. I like that" she said as she took a huge swig from the bottle and then spit it into the toilet.  
Sam then looked confused. "This isn't the sink" she said.  
"Alright to the kitchen" Raph said as he helped the woman stand on her feet and helped her walk into the other room.  
"Whoaaaa! Look at all this food!" Sam exclaimed as she looked in the fridge.  
"Yeahhhhh, you're not eating that. Let's make you some soup" he said as he guided her to sit down at the breakfast bar in the kitchen.  
"I like soup!" Sam said as she rose her hand as if waiting to be called on.  
"Wow you are so lucky, I have one can left with your name on it" he said dully.  
"WHAT?! How does the cashier know my name?!" Sam shouted as she threw her hands over head and buried her face into the table.  
"It's an expression Sam. You're safe."  
Sam peeked her eyes up from her hands. "Are you my boyfriend?"  
"Hell no" Raph said a little too quickly and aggressively.  
Sam then stood up from the table. "Then like, why are you here?" she said as she leaned onto the table so that her stomach was at the edge but her face was still flat on the tables surface.  
"Because I'm your brother. What the hell are you doing?" he said as he turned around to check and make sure she wasn't doing anything dangerous, or anything too stupid.  
"It's more comfortable this way" she whispered in a deep tone.  
"Whatever you say" he mumbled as he took the soup out of the microwave and then let it sit because it was still too hot.  
"Why are you half naked?" she asked as she was now sitting on the table.  
"Because I have this" he said as he pointed to his shell.  
"That's a big back pack" Sam said as she squinted her eyes and nodded.  
"Not a backpack" he groaned.  
"Are you sure you're my brother?" she asked as she stood up and started walking over towards the couch.  
"Yes Sam. I'm sure" he said as he placed an ice cube from the freezer into the cup with the soup.  
"Then why did I ask you to marry me?" Sam asked.  
Raph's eyes went wide.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked as he turned around and saw that she was lying upside down on the couch.  
"Hehe whoaaaa it's like I'm in that other Dimension. What's it called again?" she asked herself.

"*Sigh* sit up and eat you dork" Raph said as he walked over with a towel and the cup of soup.  
Sam awkwardly flipped herself over and now sat criss cross on the couch with her hands extended in front of her as if she was a child.  
While Sam giddily ate her soup, Raph dragged his hand down his face as he watched some t.v. It was silent for a while until drunk Sam had an epiphany.  
"OH MY GOD THERE'S MORE OF YOU!" she shouted, pointing at him with her spoon in hand, so a few drops landed on Raph's face.  
He just stared blankly at her, but a sober person would be able to sense the annoyance radiating from him.  
"Yes Sam. I have three brothers."  
"Heh, no you don't. You only have two more. Blue and Purple" she said as she continued to eat, staring at her food while she spoke.  
"No Sam there's a third" he said as he directed his attention back to the television.  
"That can't be right. My brothers would all say no if I asked them to marry me. But Orange said yes. So he can't be my brother. That wouldn't make any sense" she said as she started hysterically laughing. "This soup is so damn good!" she said as she started kicking her feet like a little kid. "Can I have more?" she said as she hopped over and held the bowl in front of the turtles face.  
Being in her ditzy state, she had no idea that Raph was frozen solid at what he had just heard the girl say.  
'Mikey said yes?' he thought to himself. 'But…why? He sees her the same way the rest of us do, doesn't he? Has he been lying? What the hell?'  
Because Raph had grown distracted he hadn't realized that Sam was now climbing on top a counter top to reach for something on a higher shelf.  
Raph dashed over to stand behind her as she reached for some chips on a top shelf.  
"Man these are my favorite!" Sam announced. She then turned around and literally walked straight off the counter, obviously not realizing where she was.  
Raph was just happy he had been standing right behind her to catch her in time.  
"Thanks bro" Sam said as she continuously pat the turtle on the cheek.  
"Sam, what do you mean Orange was the only one that said yes?" Raph asked.  
"He said he would marry me years in the future if I was still single, like Phoebe and Joey in Friends" Sam said as she was now shoveling chips into her mouth.  
Raph nodded his head and then walked Sam back over towards the couch. Sam then collapsed and leaned back into the couch as she continued to eat the chips.

Raph was just shocked. He never thought that any of his brothers would EVER consider dating Sam. She was obviously pretty and she had cute qualities, they all knew that. She had a lot of admirable qualities. He didn't want to think that the only reason he wouldn't want to be with her was because she was a tomboy, but…he just saw her as nothing more than a younger sister. Then again, why didn't he see her as an older sister? She was older than them, was that because she didn't dress or 'look' like an older woman? She dressed completely different from the way April did. April was the one that the four found gorgeous but knew she was family and would never do anything weird because of that. Also, she was, again, like a mother-sister figure to all of them, so any relationship with her would be extremely strange and awkward. Plus she was older than them, not like old lady old, but obviously way older than Sam was. Raph then had a wtf moment and wondered why the hell he was thinking of all of this in the first place.

Then, he got sneaky, and he decided to pry.  
"Hey Sam."  
"Hmmm?" she asked.  
"What do you think about Orange?" he asked as he stared at her, calmly yet curiously.  
"Ugh I hate oranges" she groaned.  
"No, not the fruit, Orange. Mikey" he reassured.  
"Ohhhh my best friend! I love him man!" Sam said with a huge smile.  
"How do you love him?" Raph asked.  
"Umm, like a best friend, duh?" Sam said with a giggle.  
"Do you want to date him?"  
"No…do you?" she asked and whispered as she now faced Raph with a curious and raised brow.  
"No!" Raph shouted.  
"Then why would I want to?" she asked, taken aback and confused.  
"Because he's not your brother!"  
"He's not?" Sam said, tilting her head.  
"I mean, he's like your brother. But he's not literally your brother, he's literally my brother though."  
"Awwww that sucks. You're in love with your brother" Sam said as she started crying.  
"Wait what?!" Raph said with a disgusted face.  
"It's like when Oedipus fell in love with his mom! Forbidden love!" Sam cried as she then leaped over and hugged Raph.  
"Forbidden love is Romeo and Juliet and why am I even trying to converse with you?" Raph said with a sigh.  
'Well this obviously got me nowhere' Raph thought to himself. The next thing he knew, the hysterically sobbing Sam was now out cold.  
Raph scoffed and smiled as he shook his head.  
"Wow, you cried yourself to sleep. You are very interesting when you are drunk" he said as he scooped her up and then carried her off to her room. He placed her down in her bed, making sure to place her on her side in case she threw up in her sleep.  
He then walked back into the living room and cleaned up the soup cup and spoon, washed them, and then dried them as he put them back in their place. He also clipped the chip bag and placed that back where it belonged.  
As he was putting things back where they belonged, he looked out of the corner of his eye when he heard a creaking sound.  
He then turned his head to see Sam walk into the room…with her sweatshirt halfway off her body and her bra (which was not a sports bra, but luckily a comfy bra that revealed no cleavage) exposed.  
Raph quickly turned away. 'Man I did not sign up for this shit tonight' he thought to himself.  
"I'm stuck" Sam mumbled.  
Raph sighed as he then turned around and walked towards Sam with his eyes glued to the ceiling. He carefully reached his hands out and helped her maneuver her way through the arms of the sweatshirt so that it was now on her.  
"Thanks red!" she said with a beaming smile.  
"Yup" he said as he then quickly turned around. He then peeked back at Sam and was shocked to see how upset she now looked.  
"What's wrong with you now?" he asked rather harshly.  
"You took away my soup-"  
"You ate it!" he bellowed. Seeing his sister practically shirtless was the tipping point in this being a pretty fucked up night.  
"Now you're yelling at me" Sam said as she began fidgeting with her fingers.  
Raph closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.  
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just flustered."  
"Because you saw my boobs?" Sam stated bluntly.  
"Yes Sam. Because I saw…that" he said.  
"Am I that ugly?" she asked softly.  
Raph was then taken aback.  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
"I mean I knew you wouldn't do anything, that's why I trusted you to help me get unstuck…but am I that ugly?"  
"Why does me not wanting to see my sister that way make you ugly?"  
"Don't guys like boobs?"  
"When they're not their sisters!" Raph exclaimed, wondering how the hell he reached this point of the conversation.  
"They just like pretty boobs."  
Raph felt had a strong feeling he was going to regret what he was about to say.  
"Your boobs are pretty Sam."  
"Now you're lying to me" she said as she crossed her arms and plopped down and sat criss cross right on the spot.  
Raph crouched down so that he was back to being at eye level with her.  
"Sam. Why do you think you're ugly?"  
"No one looks at me or compliments me. I'm just a guy. Like, I wanna be one of the guys, but I wanna be a woman" she said in a risqué voice. "But everyone only sees me as a guy. I should get a sex change" she said as she pouted and titled her head so that her cheek could rest in her palm.

Raph just sat there for a minute. Was this just drunk Sam being drunk, or in being drunk was Sam sharing thoughts that she had buried within her?  
"Sam, you're obviously pretty-"  
"Yeah when I'm coated in make-up and in heels. You saw me as a bridesmaid so NOW you can think of that when you say I'm pretty. Everyone can."  
"Well, you're pretty when you wear your soccer uniform" Raph stated genuinely.  
Sam then shot him a strange look as a means to question his statement.  
"Not everyone can rock a uniform the way you do" he said playfully. "Besides, no amount of make-up can emphasize your smile."  
"Psh, now you just sound like Orange. He says that all the time" she said as she rolled her eyes.

Raph was thrown off once again. Mikey said this shit? He wasn't lying when he said all this to her, but the only reason he was saying it was because it was obviously bothering her, or at least it was bothering her while she was drunk. But, Mikey said this when she was sober? Why? Then again Mikey was a flirt all the time…but these are things he would say to April, so why would he say them to Sam? What the hell was happening?  
He then realized Sam was beginning to fall backwards. Raph lunged forward and grabbed the neck of her sweatshirt and pulled her back forward where he saw that her eyes were closed and her mouth hung open.  
"Looks like you're out for good this time. And thank god for that" Raph mumbled as he once again scooped the girl up and carried her back to her bedroom.

He loved Sam as a sister, but nothing more than that, he could swear on his life that that was the truth. He had only said what he had tonight because it was clear that Sam had some inner demons about who she was. He was shocked to hear all this come from her. She had always been so confident in herself and never cared what others thought. She was going to dress and act in a way that made her happy, and he always assumed that she was, but if her drunken spiel was true, then there was much more negativity and sadness in her mind than any of him or his brothers had any idea about. He decided he would only talk to April about everything that was discussed tonight, she was someone they could all trust. But…then there was also what Sam had said about Mikey. Was this Mikey just being an idiot? Maybe he had said those things to be kind to Sam, just like how Leo and Donnie had begun to feel guilty after bluntly saying no when Sam asked about marriage. But, why would he hide his response from them then if it was just him being kind to his best friend? And that was the thing, Sam acted the same way around Mikey that she did with the rest of the brothers, so maybe this was nothing to get worried about. This part of the night he decided he would keep to himself. He just had no idea what was even the truth since Sam had said some loopy shit throughout the night. For all he knew, Sam could have made up the entire story about Mikey even saying yes!

Raph watched over Sam and after she had stayed asleep for a solid 20 minutes, he decided to take his leave. He left a note on her bedside table about what to do when she woke up. He already laid out clean clothes for her, set her alarms, prepared food for her to heat up during breakfast. Yup, he never thought his babysitting experiences with Renet and Keno would come into play when being friends with Sam.  
He looked over her one last time and made sure that she was still on her side. Once Sam fell asleep then she never moved, not once. Not unless she completely woke up in the middle of the night. He quickly and quietly left the room. He shot a quick message to April about talking to her about some things next time she was free, but still decided to keep the information about what was said about his brother a secret. He didn't know what to make of this information himself, so he decided to keep this information hidden unless any signs of needing to talk to him about it surfaced.


	9. Chapter 54

**Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN. ****  
****Thank you. **

****Chapter #54

***Wednedsay April 27****th****, 2016. Sam's apartment. 9:00p.m.***

****Donnie had received a text message from Sam. He was now in the alleyway outside her apartment complex as he did what he needed to in ordered to undo her alarm systems. A couple minutes later he was crawling through her open window and was standing in her room.  
"Hey, what's up? You said it was important" he said as he now shut and locked the window behind him.  
Sam was sitting in her swivel chair at the desk in her room. She now spun the chair around so that she was facing Donnie.  
"Thank god you're here! I need a break!" she exclaimed as she stretched her arms and twisted her arms to then crack and stretch her back.  
"Wait, what?" Donnie asked, obviously extremely confused.  
"Don't worry, I didn't mean important like I was in danger, but I needed a homework break dude. I had a test today, I just submitted a ridiculously long paper like 20 minutes ago. I need to relax my mind before everything that I need to tackle tomorrow. My face has literally been in front of either a computer or a text book for solid hour long periods of time now" Sam said as she slouched back in her desk chair.  
Donnie chuckled. "Well you could have said that in the message" he said as he plopped down and sat on her bed, making sure to kick his shoes off and place them along the wall. Everyone knew Sam DID NOT like people's shoes on her bed.  
"So what assignments have you been working on that your face has been in front of your computer for so long?" Donnie asked, removing his equipment and also lining devices along the wall.  
"Ohhhhhh, you know. I have this math class where I needed to research how to solve some of the more complicated formulas that the textbook sucks at explaining, I had a paper to write about local politicians for a debate in my one class, looking up information about how Karai has been spotted in Japan along with Hun" Sam said and then purposefully paused.  
She saw that Donnie had paused awkwardly from placing his belongings along the wall.

"Oh you heard me correctly" Sam said in a rather nasty tone.  
Donnie stood up and turned towards her.  
"So, is that why you called me to join you?" he asked somberly.  
"No, I called you because Raph walked me home yesterday so tonight would be your turn to see me. That means you're the one who gets to hear me get pissed off" she said as she crossed her arms and also crossed one leg over the other.  
"Sam-" Donnie said as he ran his hand over top his head.  
"I knew you guys would keep me in the dark, even Mikey did. Leo said on Monday that you guys would keep me posted-"  
"IF it put your life in danger" Donnie snapped back (shocking Sam a bit). "But right now no one's life is in danger. We're trying to make sense of what we're learning as well. So far everything is just articles and hacking cameras to gain visuals and then piece things together from there. I don't know your definition of being in danger but to me looking at words and videos isn't putting you in harm's way" he said rather sternly.  
Sam pouted. "Still…"  
"Why are you looking this up anyway? You have all these assignments to worry about, so when are you even finding time for this?" he asked, more so curious than upset.  
"We took a bus trip down to Maryland for our game today. I told myself if I could get enough homework done then I could do some research. Best motivation tactic I have ever used on myself. I must say it was most effective."  
Donnie nodded. "So what did you find?"  
Sam scoffed. "Well for you it's probably a repeat of information now. But, since you asked, I read that Karai has been spotted in Japan. I'd assume she's gathering loyal Foot soldiers to bring with her hear to New York. I've hacked into a variety of different establishment's video feeds and spotted Hun with her on numerous occasions. Also, for the hell of it, I looked into Sachs's bank accounts. He's in jail so nothing should be happening with his money, yet there have been purchases made for materials, where but of course, Japan! Although there were also some purchases made in Russia, so I don't know if that means they have connections there as well. But then there's also the fact that Bebop and Rocksteady have now been allowed to roam freely during recreational hours in their prison and are no longer sentenced to just sitting in the same cell for hours and hours-"

"Wait, what?" Donnie asked, genuine shock displayed on his face.  
"Yeah, the files state that they were given permission…today…" Sam paused. She leaned forward and placed her hands on her knees. "You didn't know that yet, did you?" she asked softly.  
"No I didn't. Show me where you discovered this now" he said as he walked up behind her as she swung her chair around and placed her second laptop in front of her (because of course she had one for school work and one filled with programs that helped make the device un-trackable).  
Sam typed in some codes when accessing files from the prison's database and pulled up multiple files regarding the mutant criminals.  
Donnie read over each file quickly but carefully.  
"I can't believe it. They're in the same prison as Sachs AND Tatsu and yet they now can roam around freely?!" Donnie exclaimed. "What the hell, how were they given permission for this?"  
"Apparently the corrections officers stated that if the two were able to behave then they would gain one chance, and only one chance, to 'blend in' with the other prisoners. This way they're not locked up and doing nothing. In a sense I get it. The two never did anything serious besides for petty crimes and some minor robberies before they worked for Shredder. I know they didn't exactly have a choice in that, and honestly they're too stupid to truly harm anyone. They carry weapons on them but they usually don't harm people as long as they do what the two say. Basically they're the crappiest excuses for bad guys out there. However, they still chose to be bad guys. They deserve to be in jail but, as much as I hate to say it, they technically don't deserve solitary confinement. ADDING TO THAT, they now have the chances to communicate with Sachs and Tatsu, which is terrifying" Sam said as she pursed her lips.

"Have you checked all four of their schedules to see if and when they can meet in person?" Donnie asked.  
"Already checked. None of them actually meet face to face, besides the mutant duo who also somehow gained permission to stay together at all times, but they don't meet up with the other two. And then Sachs and Tatsu don't even meet up ever."  
Donnie stood up straight and crossed his arms, his chin resting on his knuckle.  
"Something's not right. Knowing those two morons, they would be fine if they were stuck in a crammed room with nothing but each other for the rest of their lives. They wouldn't even know what to ask for in regards to fair treatment unless someone coaxed them."  
"That means someone had to convince them to even ask for things like movement during recreational periods."

The two then paused and faced each other. Donnie looked down at Sam, and she looked up at him.  
"Research time?" Sam asked, her lips beginning to form a small smile.  
Donnie nodded. "You're lucky I'm invested in this" he said as he walked over and retrieved his own tech that was lined along the wall.  
For the next couple of hours the two continued to research as much as they could about how the hell the two mutant dweebs received the privileges that they had, and then tried to link this to any other information they had already gained about Hun and Karai.

"It's been 2 hours, it's now 11:00p.m. What information have we gathered so far D?" Sam asked.  
"Well, not including the United States, Sachs has supposedly purchased tickets to visit Tokyo in Japan, Seoul in South Korea, Shanghai and Beijing in China, Manila in the Philippines, Mumbai in India, Moscow in Russia, Sydney in Australia, Lagos in Nigeria, Rio de Janiero in Brazil, Barcelona in Spain, Mexico City in Mexico, Toronto in Canada, London in the United Kingdom, Berlin in Germany, Paris in France, and Rome in Italy."  
"Alright, what have we gathered about 'Sach's' visits, aka Karai and Hun's world travels?" she asked, spinning her chair around with her laptop in her lap so that she could face Donnie who was pacing back and forth on the floor behind her.  
"We've seen multiple camera angles that display where they went, but it's extremely difficult to make any connections. I was hoping to see what their objective was, if there was any connection between their visits from country to country. Unfortunately many of these countries provide little to no access to the two at all due to lack of tech to film and follow them. Also, none of the people from the few camera angles we've been able to see look familiar from video to video."  
"So basically-" Sam groaned in frustration.  
"We've still got nothing…but…" he said as he froze in his place.  
"Watcha thinking?" Sam asked, sitting up straight in excitement for a lead on their hacking journeys.  
Donnie turned around and pointed at her, nodding the entire time as if agreeing with his own thoughts.  
"We've been trying to make connections from video to video, but what if the people they met are here?"  
Sam paused for a second to comprehend what was just said.  
"Those people could have traveled. We've been following Hun and Karai, but we don't know anything about the people they've been visiting. Those people could be somewhere here in the U.S. now!" Sam announced.  
"Write down all of this! We need to get this to Casey. This information is going to be way to huge for just the two of us to handle."

Sam nodded her head and grabbed a notepad and wrote down what Donnie said as fast as her hand would allow.  
"So far we know that Karai and Hun have traveled to 16 countries and 17 cities. We know that they visited different people in each country, although we don't know exactly how many people were visited in each country. Some videos show the two in more isolated streets, others show them in crowded areas. At any time they could be communicating with groups of people or with individuals. The races of people in each country has been very diverse. For example, even in countries like Japan, China, South Korea, countries where almost all of the population is one race, they still met in areas where there was a diverse number of people with different racial backgrounds in those areas-"  
"Meaning it would be ten times more difficult to pin point just exactly who their target person or people were to meet. It makes it more difficult to come to conclusions as to what their motives are. They could be rounding up worldwide Foot soldiers from the Tokyo branch where the most loyal soldiers lie, they could be meeting high school friends. We have no idea because there's no pattern. It would be different if it were always, for example, Asian citizens they were meeting. But it seems they were meeting people of all different backgrounds" Sam added aloud.

"Exactly. They knew someone might be watching, and they knew things like Sachs money being used would eventually get out IF someone took the time to even check a man in prison's financial records…hold on."  
Donnie then walked back over to the bed and picked up his tablet.  
"What are you doing? Sam asked.  
"Get as many safe devices that you have and pull up as many different videos from the different countries where they visited. Look for what they're doing and not just who they're with this time" Donnie stated.  
Sam nodded. She grabbed a few more devices, used some more complex coding languages to protect herself from being hacked, and pulled up as many videos as she could.  
40 minutes later, she understood what Donnie meant.  
"They've been handing out flyers. Like, they literally look like entrepreneurs. The question now is what information is being distributed on those papers?" Sam questioned.  
Donnie shook his head.  
"That's the thing. They could be rounding up new recruits, they could be giving out coordinates, and they could be distributing instructions for a plan that's already been put into place. It could all of the above!" he said as he ran his hand over his head.  
"Got it. Wrote it all down" Sam added. "We need to get this to someone higher than the police. People NEED to be on the lookout not only for Hun and Karai, but for everyone in all of these videos. We need to know who these hosts from each country visited after these conversations were held, what they do afterwards, are they even still in the countries where they met? Hell, they could all be in the U.S. by now."

The two deadpanned and stared at each other with wide eyes.  
"CORRECTIONS!" they both announced. They then quickly pulled up documents and began researching information about the corrections officers who allowed Bebop and Rocksteady permission to mingle about with the other prisoners.  
"Hmmm so far these guys all check out. We defeated Kraang on June 8th, 2015. All these officers had been working at the prison way before then. Thorough background checks would need to be conducted to determine if they have any secret ties with the Foot" Donnie said, cracking his knuckles after typing so long.  
"Oh shit" Sam said, her jaw dropped slightly open.  
"What's up?" Donnie asked with caution.  
She waved him to come over, so he walked over and stood over her shoulder.

"So you had the idea to look into the corrections officers backgrounds, but I thought about when Kraang left on June 8th. That's given Karai and Hun…basically 10 months to put whatever plan they had going into action. The first plane ticket purchased was for Madrid, Spain, the second for New Delhi India. All of this happened in early July. However, based on the dates, the few videos we have of the two in these countries shows them literally going to their hotels and then heading to their next flight. The first video we see them actually meeting with others is in Sydney Australia."  
Sam made sure to pull up whatever videos she was talking about in order to make her transitions easier for Donnie to follow, and also just to prove her points.  
"That means anyone they met from Sydney had 9 months to travel to the United States to follow whatever directions Karai and Hun could have possibly given them. Now look closely at this man here" Sam said as she paused a video.  
She then pointed to a man in the background of the video. The white man was a bus boy and cleared the table where Karai and Hun were seen having a meal with a group of young females of various races.  
Sam then switched over to a hacked video feed from the prison.  
"Now this video was recorded today in the court yard. Now tell me that these two men are not the same person."  
Donnie's eyes went wide. She was right. The man's hair was obviously different, but his body stature, his height, it was definitely the same guy. His arms had gotten a bit buffer, but when examining the clips side by side, this was definitely the same guy.  
"They've been recruiting. Follow the video dates. Where did they go after Sydney?" Donnie asked.  
"Ummmm, give me a second, I typed them up."  
Sam then pulled up a Word document where she had typed the order and dates from each video that they had discovered (Donnie was low-key proud of her organization skills).  
"Alright, now-"  
"I already have maps up for coordinates" Donnie said, catching on to what Sam was thinking as he now had a program up and running where a world map was now glowing in front of him as he typed on the devices on his wrist.  
"After Australia they went to the Philippines, then Japan, then South Korea, China, India, Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico City, and currently they are in Canada."  
"So they went in order. They went to the countries that were furthest away so that anyone they recruit from those countries would have a longer period of time to do whatever they needed to in order to travel over towards the U.S." he said as he closed down the images and covered his wrist device.

"Son of a bitch" Sam said as she ran her hands through her hair. "They've been planning this all along. They know exactly what they're doing. And we have no idea just what it is they're planning either."  
"And we don't know how many of the people they've met are already here. Hell the guy now currently in prison never actually met them face to face, at least not from what we can see anyway, yet here he is in the United States. Who knows how many people are even here that aren't here with good intentions" Donnie said with a huff as he sat down on the bed.  
"That or they could have traveled to other countries and god knows what they're doing elsewhere" Sam said, not realizing she was now nervously tapping her fingers on the side of her desk chair.  
"And that could play a role in Bebop and Rocksteady's granted permission. That man was in the court yard with them. What if…" Donnie trailed off.  
"Shit, don't say it" Sam said covering her eyes with her hands.  
"He's there for a reason, same with them. They could be conversing and who knows who else they're conversing with. Plus, this information could be traveling around the prison to Sachs and Tatsu. Security guards could be in on it depending on who is pretending to be whom" Donnie announced in hysteric excitement.  
"He said it" Sam said slumping in her chair. "This is unbelievable" she said. "How have we been allowing this to happen for all this time?"  
"Because Shredder disappeared, so everyone thought that meant the Foot would disappear. But we were wrong. Something is being planned and we need to figure out what. Call Casey right now!"

Sam nodded as she called Casey's cell…and got his voicemail.  
"Hey man, meet with Donnie and the guys the first free second you get, it's an emergency and Vincent needs to know so higher ups can be involved. This is serious business on a global scale, and I mean that literally. Like I said, get in contact with Donnie the first second you get."  
Sam hung up the phone and flopped back onto her bed. She looked over at her clock and was shocked to see that it was already 1:30a.m.  
"Ugh, now we gotta download everything so that-"  
"Already done" Donnie said as he shut down his device. "I have copied everything so that I can relay everything we now know to Casey."  
"Thank god!" Sam said, extending her arms out to her sides. "I did not want to have to sit there and take the time to do all that."

Donnie chuckled. "Guess that's my cue to leave then, huh?" he said with a smile.  
Sam sat up, a little too quickly since her head was now a bit dizzy.  
"What? Why? We just got all our work done. We can actually relax now" she said with a beaming smile.  
"Um, you have classes tomorrow" Donnie stated matter-of-factly.  
"Not until later in the afternoon. My first couple of classes got canceled and I have no practices or rehearsals tomorrow. SO STAY" Sam said, waving her arms to her side as a sign for her friend to sit down next to her.  
"How do you still have energy after doing all that for hours, and that's after you had completed a bunch of other college assignments" he said as he playfully shook his head.  
"Pshh you have no right to talk you hypocrite!" Sam exclaimed. While Donnie had been cleaning up his tech which had been scattered all throughout the room, he didn't realize that as Sam was talking she was removing her black and green Adidas hoodie, and in doing so, got stuck and had toppled into the wall.  
He turned around to check on her, just to see that her arms were raised above her head due to still being stuck in the arms of the hoodie (she had tried to pull the hoodie up and over her head) and that the majority of the hoodie was covering her face and was now revealing her chest, which meant that her bra was revealed as well.

Donnie quickly looked away as a means to be courteous and not stare at his sister in this state.  
"Um, help. Please?" Sam asked. "I'm wearing a sports bra so you're safe."  
Donnie then slowly turned around and saw that Sam's chest was covered thanks to the stretched material of her sports bra. He sighed in relief and walked over to help her stand up.  
Sam then successfully removed the hoodie. She ruffled a hand through her now slightly messed up hair as she looked up at Donnie and smiled a wide teeth filled smile.  
"Thanks man!" she said aloud.  
Donnie laughed.  
"Okay one, it's early in the morning so lower your voice. And two, just be happy it was me and not a stranger or anything."  
"Man, that's two brothers in two days. I gotta get better at removing hoodies" Sam said as she lay on her stomach on her bed so that her chin was hanging over the edge.  
"Wait, two?" Donnie chuckled. "Who's the other brother?"  
Sam then sat up and pursed her lips.  
"I guess Raph kept his mouth shut. I have even more respect for him now" she said with a smile as she nodded her head.  
"Okay I need explanations" Donnie said as he now took a seat in Sam's desk chair.  
"So, I may have been a little drunk-"  
"You were wasted" Donnie said with a smirk.  
"I see he made sure to tell you that part" Sam groaned.  
"Oh yes" Donnie said with a playfully delirious smile.  
"ANYWAY. Apparently I had a similar situation where I couldn't get my hoodie off, and I may have flashed him my bra yesterday" she said, twiddling her fingers.  
"Oh my god that's great!" Donnie said, laughing aloud.  
"Excuse me?" Sam said, taken aback by this unexpected response.  
"Raph is so incredibly awkward, I can't imagine what he was thinking when that happened.  
"Interesting" Sam said. She jumped up and then lay sideways on her bed, her head resting in one hand while one leg was kicked up. This had now become her questioning pose for the night.  
"Please explain Donatello, how you reacted when I was topless" she stated in a direct manner.

He shrugged. "You're a good friend, so I knew it would only be weird if I made it weird. I mean I would never want you to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed, so I made sure to look away so that you wouldn't feel that way. Heh, but knowing Raph he would be freaking out as he tried to decided where to look and how to react."  
Sam smiled at Donnie's first comment. She appreciated what he said about not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. She then rolled her eyes as she listened to Donnie talk about Raph's reaction.  
"For the nerdy brother you sure pick on your brothers a lot."  
"It's only fair. Being the second youngest they pick on me almost just as much as Mikey. They just don't pick on me as much because I'm smart and they know I have the best comebacks."  
"Ohhh they HATE when they don't understand your comebacks either! Mikey will laugh it off, but the older two get so frustrated that I can't help but laugh" she said, laughing herself.

"What can I say?" he stated as he threw his hands up beside him. "Being the smartest includes quick smartass comments."  
"Nerdy but sassy" Sam said as she pointed at him, while now also sitting up in her bed. "That's one of my favorite things about you" she said with the cringiest wink Donnie had ever seen.  
He threw his hand over his mouth, but it didn't prevent him from laughing out loud.  
Sam began to pout as she crossed her arms.  
"Wow, I just complimented you to" she said as she shook her head. "And to think, I was going to watch Deadpool with you. OH WELL."  
Sam turned her head but peeked to see Donnie gasp with a smile on his face.  
"Ahhhh I haven't seen it yet! Do you have a copy?!" he exclaimed.  
"I don't know. I might have one. But maybe I returned it to the library already" she said with a smirk.  
"I will fight you for that movie" he said as he began to stand up, his arms at his sides as if he was a cowboy reaching for his handguns on the sides of his waist.  
Sam looked at him and scoffed.  
"You think I'm afraid of you?" she asked, looking the turtle up and down.  
"You should be" he said as he lunged.  
He expected Sam to react in some way, but it was obvious that the girl was laughing way too much to think straight.  
Donnie threw the girl over his shoulder.  
"Oh man you're so heavy, I think I'm gonna fall" he said with a snicker. Of course he would never drop her, and to him, Sam was as light as a feather. But hearing her freak out and laugh-scream about being dropped was just too damn funny, so he faked his stumbles as if he was actually going to drop her.

"Alright! I have the film! I'll show you!" she said, tears forming in her eyes from laughing so much.  
"That's what I thought" he said as he carefully put her back down.  
Sam squinted her eyes at him. "I got my eyes on you."  
Donnie spun her around so that she was now facing the doorway.  
"Great, that's awesome. Now lead me to the DVD!" he said as he gently pushed her forward.  
Sam smiled as she dashed out of the room and into the living room.

Donnie walked into the room as well…and Sam was gone.  
"Ughhh I wanna watch the movie Sam!" he announced.  
He looked around and didn't sense any movement, so he decided to make things more fun and turned off all the lights.  
"Alright. If you wanna play ninja, let's play ninja" Donnie said in a serious tone.  
He made sure each step was taken with extreme caution. He didn't want to give Sam any hints that he was heading her way. He crept all throughout the living room, making sure not to make a sound as he carefully moved furniture to see if he could find her. After a few minutes it was evident that she wasn't in the living room or the kitchen, so he made his way back towards her room. He stopped and turned to his left so that he was now standing in front of the entrance to the bathroom on that floor.  
A smirk grew on his face as he slowly opened the door, making a slight creaking sound whilst doing so.  
He knew that there was only one place she could hide if she was hiding in this room, and that was obviously behind the shower curtain.  
He gently got a grip on the curtain and then yanked it open, only to be sprayed in the face with the shower head that was being held in Sam's hand.  
The girl laughed hysterically as she then leapt out of the tub and dashed out of the room. Of course, Donnie being the speed demon that he was dashed after the girl in the still pitch black room. He heard her footsteps near the couch and literally lunged, not realizing how close he actually was to her.

In lunging, he had dragged Sam down onto the floor with him. Somehow she was able to wriggle her way out, but her laughter made it obvious where she was located, so once again Donnie lunged onto the couch where he brought Sam down with him.  
"Welp time to get comfy" he said as he quickly adjusted himself so that he was literally sitting on Sam's stomach.  
He turned to see her eyes turn blue, her powers kicking in and making her stomach strong enough to hold Donatello's weight.  
"No! Donnay!" she announced through her laughs.  
"Where's the movie Sam?" he asked, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back further.  
"It's already in the DVD player! Remote's on the arm of the couch!"

Donnie stood up and reached for the remote and turned on the t.v. He was shocked to see that the screen was already displaying the menu to start the movie. Now that the television was on, there was light that allowed him to properly see things around the room, including the girl that was now sitting behind him as she was still laying down and catching her breath while he was sitting on the edge of the couch.  
"This is what our original plans were, right? Before we started sleuthing?" he asked with a smile.  
"Yes" Sam said as she finally caught her breath. "Can you go get the snacks from the fridge and on the counter? I would but I've been squished so that the air has been released from my lungs" she stated in a loud and direct tone.  
Donnie rolled his eyes and smirked. "If I must" he said as he stood up from the couch.  
He walked over and retrieved the mix of Asian and American based chips, gummies, crackers and cookies that Sam had spread out across the table, only taking a few snacks at a time or else the two would get sick from eating every single snack that was currently on the kitchen table.  
He then walked over towards the fridge where he knew the variety of different drinks were kept.  
He scanned his eyes over all the different drinks. An "oooh" escaped his lips as his attention was directed towards a bottle of Jepun chocolate mint milk tea.  
"Sam, what drink do you want?" he called out as he snatched the milk tea from the fridge.  
"Ramune. Coconut flavored" Sam called out.  
Donnie located the soda and grabbed the bottle. He then gathered the two drinks and the few snacks (for now he decided to stick to the chips) and headed back over towards the couch.

He plopped down on the right side of the couch (when facing the television) and kicked his feet up. He was laying on the long part of the couch that extended further outward as if forming an L. Sam was currently on the left side of the couch and had her legs kicked up so that they were laying down the middle of the couch. This meant that while she was lying on the left side of the couch, her feet were closer to where Donnie was laying.  
"Heads up" he said as he first tossed her the soda and then tossed her a smaller bag of chips.  
"Thanks fam" she said as she practically tore into the bag. "You ready?" she asked.  
"Of course!" he announced.  
With that, the movie started.  
The two watched and laughed their asses of throughout the entire film. They literally had to keep shushing each other because one of the two was always laughing way too loud for it being 2 to 3 in the morning.  
Donnie assumed he would be helping Sam get to bed afterwards since he assumed she would be dead tired once the movie had ended, yet here Sam was talking animatedly about her favorite scenes from the film as she cleaned up the endless wrappers, bags, and juice boxes and bottles on the floor in front of the couch.  
Donnie stared as her in astonishment. "How are you still awake?" he asked in shock.  
"Again, you're a total hypocrite" she scoffed.  
"Seriously Sam, how are you still wired? You should be dead tired by now" he said, concern evident in his tone.  
"Ummm, it's all the snacks we've been eating" she said nodding her head and scurrying over towards the trash can in the kitchen.  
"That makes sense" Donnie replied, lying through his teeth. He then carefully walked over and peeked inside the trash can.  
"Ahhh there's the real reason" he said as he peeked inside.  
"What?" Sam asked as she turned around from putting back the uneaten snacks, only to see Donnie holding up two large Starbucks cups, both with 2 hits of espresso checked off along the sides of the cup.  
"Seriously?" he asked.  
"HYPOCRITE!" she announced aloud as she aggressively pointed towards him.  
"Okay but I'm locked up in a sewer where I can sleep all day if I've been up all night working on a project. You have classes and practices and other various responsibilities. I mean you do way too much for one person to handle so you need to sleep" he said, his tone growing rather cross.  
"Yeah well I have what feels like a million assignments to complete each day along with practices and rehearsals that prevent me from completing the course work and studying for tests. And then I need to work different events for different university organizations in order to keep my scholarships-"  
"Wait, I thought you were getting grants from organizations secretly supporting fallen Foot members?" Donnie questioned.  
"Well yeah I got some, but that barely covers the cost of 3 classes. I still needed money for the other two, plus the cost of books was all out of pocket. And of course each class required the newest editions of the textbooks so I couldn't purchase used copies of previous editions. Luckily I was able to rent everything but it was still pricey as hell. Thank god for Amazon and prime memberships for lowering the prices slightly" Sam groaned.  
"So what university organizations are you working for?" he asked, growing slightly irritated that Sam was now carrying more stress on her shoulders than he and his brothers realized.  
"SGA" she stated, as if he had any idea what that meant.  
"I'm assuming that's the 'student government association?" he asked.  
"Yes" Sam said. She was trying to display a poker face that hid what was on her mind, but Donnie was able to read her better than that.  
He straightened his back and scoffed. "You're in more groups than that, aren't you?" he asked sternly.  
Sam slumped backwards against the counter and started turning her body away from him, as if she was about to run out of the room.  
"SAM!" Donnie exclaimed.  
Sam stopped moving and sighed. When Donnie talked like that, he was serious, and trying to play things off like she was about to would really piss him off, and she cared about her brother too much to allow that. She turned around, but she stared at his feet as she spoke.  
"4 groups" she mumbled.  
"4 GROUPS?!" he exclaimed as he threw his hands up at his sides. "What the hell, why?!"  
"Cause I need the scholarship money! Each group gives out scholarships to members who participate enough throughout each semester, some larger than others. Any type of scholarship is helpful at this point. I mean Jay paid so much money straight out of pocket for me to attend this year alone, there's no way we can do that for 3 more years!" Sam said defensively.  
"What are the groups?" Donnie asked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the fridge.

"SGA, ISA or International Students Association, SCC or sports club council, and Helping Hands. The last one is a volunteer organization where students work with businesses off of campus, so like soup kitchens, elderly homes, helping the homeless, saving the planet kind of stuff. The other three are pretty self-explanatory. We handle finances of campus activities and groups, we plan and organize campus events, help students get adjusted to campus life. I don't do much for any of them to be honest, but every so many weeks I have to work different events. SGA and ISA each will write me a check for 200 dollars, and SCC and Helping Hands will write me checks for 100. That's 600 dollars' worth of free money towards each upcoming semester!" Sam announced, stressing how important all these groups were towards herself.  
"Okay, now tell me what else you do on campus" Donnie stated.  
Sam was silent once more.  
"Come on" Donnie said. His stance made it clear that he wasn't leaving until she 'spilled the beans.'  
"…I have two on-campus jobs" Sam whispered as she twiddled her fingers.  
"Why?" Donnie groaned.  
"Because the tech job is usually right before or after my dance rehearsals so it's easy money where I can study and complete other assignments simultaneously, and the tutoring job is available whenever I am" she mumbled.  
"Jesus what else are you doing?" Donnie asked, because he was too smart for his own good and could tell that she was STILL keeping information from him.  
"…I've entered a writing contest…8 times" Sam said. "THAT'S OFFICIALLY IT NOTHING ELSE!"  
"How?" he asked, rubbing his fingers against the sides of his temples. "Like when are you eating? When are you sleeping?"  
"Well, I'm eating caffeine filled foods and beverages, and I sleep…10 minutes before and after classes end" she replied nervously.  
"Sam-"  
"Dude you don't get how expensive college is. I would start at community college first, but you gain such a high rep if you make the dance and soccer teams here as a freshman. Like I already have scouts eyeing me up! That's huge! All because I'm on this team as a freshy! I need to be here, which means I need money to be here!"  
"Okay, hold up. I get the clubs and jobs, but why the writing contests? How is that helping you financially?" he genuinely asked.  
"You get prizes if you win. I now have three 20 dollar gift cards to the campus book store. That's 60 dollars towards books for next semester, money I'm not wasting after not being able to fully afford the fall semester" she stated.  
Donnie sighed.  
"Sam, you're literally one of the toughest people I know, but this is insane. How can you possibly handle all that by yourself?" he asked. At this point he wasn't angry, but more so seriously concerned for the girl's health. "God and then you're spending hours looking up information about Karai and Hun? You should be asleep right now."  
"Look, I can do this. It's only for 3 years and then I never have to work to that point of exhaustion ever again. Please Donnie you can't tell Jay or anyone about all of this" Sam begged.  
"And what happens when you collapse because you haven't eaten enough? Or because you're hallucinating from lack of sleep?" he asked in a worried tone.  
"Okay I get enough sleep to prevent myself from hallucinating, and I'm still eating, I promise. I eat all throughout the day, I just don't sit down for official meals. But dude I'm still healthy. I wouldn't be allowed to play soccer and dance if I wasn't" she reassured.

Donnie sighed.  
"Please just promise me something" he said.  
"Yeah. Anything" Sam said as she rapidly nodded her head.  
"The second things go too far, the very first second you feeling dizzy, or, or the first time you start seeing clowns standing behind people because of lack of food and sleep, or the first second you have a mental breakdown from stress, you start eliminating these extra groups from your schedule. I mean you're taking 5 classes plus constantly attending rehearsals and practices. You need to take care of yourself" he said as he now placed his hands on her shoulders.  
"We NEED you to be okay. Okay?"  
Sam couldn't help but smile. "Deal" she said, lifting her arm up and holding her pinky out in front of her.  
The turtle chuckled as he completed the pinky promise.  
"I'm proud of your grit, but you and your safety, heh and your sanity, are so much more important" he reassured.  
He then looked over at the clock are realized it was 3a.m.  
"And on that note, you're heading to bed. NOW" he said with raised brows to emphasize how serious he was.  
"Okay mom" the girl replied as she rolled her eyes.  
"Why am I always mom? Everyone else is dad, but I'm mom" he said as he laughed.  
"Because you're stern but you're nice" she said, making doe eyes as she stared up at the taller turtle.  
"Flattery will get you nowhere. GO" he said as he gently nudged her so that she would turn around and head towards her bedroom.  
"You're also stubborn" she said snidely, yet playfully.

Sam quickly changed into more comfortable clothes in her bedroom while Donnie waited outside in the living room. He would have left after that…but he didn't trust that she would actually go to bed afterwards. So he talked to her a little longer. Luckily, he could sense that she was getting more and more drowsy.

Sam walked over towards her desk, but that fast was pulled away as Donnie hooked his arms around hers.  
"Ha, nice try. BED" he stated as he tried to gently walk her back towards her bed.  
"Ughhhhh mom I'm not sleepy yet!" Sam whined as she made her body go limp and collapsed, almost dragging Donnie down with her.  
"Unfortunately for you I've dealt with two children who are masters at this, so handling you is nothing" he said as he swiftly pulled her back up and over his shoulder.  
'Damn, I keep forgetting how freaking strong he is!' Sam thought to herself. There were multiple times where she underestimated the turtle's strength since he was so much thinner than his brothers. But being thin had nothing to do with the power built up within the muscle of this mutant, which was being proven right now as Donnie then tossed Sam onto the bed and within a split second of doing so had collapsed onto the bed himself.  
His left arm lay across her chest (more-so his elbow) as his hand held onto her left arm, and his left leg was laid across her legs so that they were pinned to the bed.  
However, while Sam was laughing, she was still able to move around some while trying to break free.  
"Hmmm" Donnie hummed, wondering how he could trap the girl and force her to fall asleep.  
He then devised a plan which Sam fell right into (she wasn't thinking straight due to her laughing so much from failing at trying to break free).

Donnie lifted his left side up for a split second, to which Sam tried to get up, allowing just enough space for Donnie to slide his right arm and leg under her so that his right arm and leg were between her and the bed. He then clamped his left arm and leg down as Sam was in the middle of turning when trying to escape, so now she was trapped as Donatello tightly held onto her, his arms and legs wrapped around her tightly while in what ended up being a typical cuddle position, although now it was being used to hold Sam captive.  
"Awwww man! I fell right into your trap!" Sam pouted, but Donnie could tell she was still smiling.  
"Perfect!" he said with a wide smile as his chin lay on top of her head, "now you're trapped and will have to fall asleep!"  
"NEVER!" Sam said, still wiggling and trying to break free (girl didn't stand a chance, but she tried).  
Every few seconds Sam would try wriggling again, but Donnie wasn't going to budge.  
"You done yet?" he asked.  
Sam could just hear the smirk forming on his face.  
"Yes. But because I chose to surrender and because I am comfortable. Your muscular power has nothing to do with it" she stated firmly.  
"Mhm" Donnie said with a nod. "Why are you so against sleeping anyway?"  
"Hypocrite" Sam mumbled.  
"Fine. I get it. There's a million things that need to get done and when everyone else is sleeping is the perfect time to get things accomplished. But you have to live during the day. If I stay up all day then I can just call it off one night on patrol and that's it. You're going to collapse from exhaustion during one of your classes" he said in what had switched over to a more worried tone.

"Leo told us what happened earlier this week by the way."  
Sam groaned.  
Donnie continued to talk. "That means I know you fell asleep on the bench outside the library, and I know you almost fell down the steps, and I know you were calling out to Leo when you thought he was in one place and really he was nowhere close to that spot."  
"That happened one time" Sam said, rolling her eyes.  
"Yeah, three things, at one time. Luckily Leo was there to walk you home" he said, holding onto Sam just a little tighter.  
Obviously Sam sensed this and curled up some, physically stating that she wasn't playfully going to try and escape anymore.  
"You worry too much" she whispered.  
"Can you blame me?" he scoffed. "With your track record it's hard not to."  
Sam sighed with a smile. "Fair, point taken. But you guys know I'll call you if something happens-"  
"If you can get to the phone in time" Donnie cut in.  
"You're referring to that night, huh?" Sam asked, referring to the night the jocks jumped her.  
Donnie nodded, his chin still resting on top of the girl's head.  
"Do you have any idea how scared we were? Both in general since a woman could have had the worst most traumatizing experience of her life that night, but then how much worse it got when we realized it was you?" he asked in a whisper, not wanting to sound weak and have his voice crack.  
"I have an idea, but no. I've seen Shredder and Kraang fight you guys and it scared the shit out of me, but obviously you've never been put in that type of traumatizing situation…do you guys ever get frustrated having to deal with me?" Sam asked softly.  
Donnie released his arms and jumped up.  
"Come again?"  
"Nothing" Sam stated quickly, making sure not to move because she knew that Donnie probably looked shocked and hurt and pissed all in one look right now.  
"What did you just ask me?" Donnie stated sternly, now demonstrating that he was hurt and pissed.  
Sam slowly turned over. "Just, I'm always doing things that scare you guys. I mean, you guys already have so much to worry about, especially now that we figured out what Karai and Hun's motives are" she said as her face was turned inwards towards her pillow.  
Donnie sighed as he reached over and gently, using just the right amount of force, pulled on Sam's arm and made her turn over so that she had to look at him.  
"Sam, are you that clueless to realize that you've brought ten times as many happy moments into our lives compared to the scary moments?" Donnie asked. "You've taken us places we could only imagine visiting, you've connected with each of us in ways we never thought we'd be able to connect with anyone, ever. You've introduced us to enough trustworthy people that our family has grown larger than we ever thought it would. You can't seriously think that we're caught up on the moments where things went wrong."  
"Yeah, but-"  
"Sam," Donnie cut in, "there are things that have happened to you that sadly could also happen to anyone at any time, like what those dickless jocks tried to do to you" he said as he balled his hand into a fist, grabbing onto the sheets below him without realizing he was doing so. He sighed. "It's not just you, sadly bad things happen in life. But that's why family needs to stay close, to be there when they need each other. That's why all of us are still here regardless of everything that has happened, because we all care about and support and protect each other. You're worth our time and worry Sam" he said as he looked down at his friend who was still laying down on the bed.

Sam sat up and leaned her head onto her friends shoulder.  
"I guess I feel the same way about you four" she teased in a dull voice.  
"You guess huh?" Donnie smirked, throwing his arm around the girl's shoulder. "You've only risked your life for us, I don't even know how many times now, and you guess?"  
"Well then I guess that proves that you guys are also worth my time and worry" she said matter of factly."  
The two continued to talk and tease each other as they reflected on times where they both kicked ass and saved the other, or others in their family group. This conversation gradually switched back and forth from them talking about different topics relating to their family. Eventually, Sam became drowsy and fell asleep while still leaning on Donnie's shoulder.

As the girl lay against his shoulder, he stared down at her for a few minutes.  
Man she terrified him. He never thought anyone could have such a huge impact on his life, yet earlier he had been raising his voice because the girl wasn't taking care of herself properly. Didn't she realize how much of a panic he and his brothers would go into if anything happened to her? Because that's all they needed, was to get a phone call that Sam had walked out into traffic being only semi-conscious because of exhaustion, or who knows what else. His mind then flashed to the night where they literally were in the right place at the right time.

Kris had sent a message that Sam wasn't home, so the guys decided to swing by the university to see if they could spot Sam, and what did they find? A blacked out Sam with 7 guys surrounding her.  
The turtle felt chills run through his body as he remembered the sight. He had to fight his mind from even thinking about what could have happened to her if they hadn't shown up when they did, and that occasion had nothing to do with Sam being tired and malnourished!  
He sighed as he slowly moved so that he could gently lay Sam down on her bed. He covered her up, turned off the lights, and then quietly and swiftly gathered all his tech. He opened her window, but he stood there for a minute and stared back at his friend before making his leave.

Terrified, that's the feeling she left him with. When he first met her, he never would have thought that a year later he would constantly be worried sick about her health and well-being, like a true brother and sister. And yet that's what life now consisted of. 'It's crazy how quickly life changes' he thought to himself. He knew Sam was strong, but she was still human. She wasn't perfect, no one was, and it scared him that she wouldn't be able to handle the millions of things she needed to deal with every day.  
But he knew he had to have faith that his sister would recognize when she was pushing her limits, and he had to believe that she would contact one of them, or someone if she began to break in any way.  
He sighed for what had to have been the millionth time that night, and he quietly made his leave.

***Friday April 29****th****, 2016. 1:00a.m. at the Blair University library***

****Sam was being as patient as she possibly could be. Thanks to not having two of her classes that day, she was able to get pretty far ahead when completing her assignments and studying for tests. She was now ahead on some projects and had even completed some preparations for upcoming campus events and meetings related to the organizations she was working for. She even had time to visit Renet for a few minutes to wish her a happy 5th birthday earlier that afternoon. She had basically been on a homework binge and had had an extremely productive day strictly because she could and not because she was just about to miss deadlines. Because of this, she had been either in a café or at the library for more than half of the day. She was on a roll to the point that she had never left.  
She could have left earlier with friends, but she was just so in the zone that she decided to stay. Now that it was so late, she was able to contact Mikey and ask him to walk her home since it would have been his turn to meet up with her.  
Sam was excited, it was Thursday and she didn't have anything planned until later in the afternoon the next day, so Mikey could actually hangout with her for a while rather than just drop her off.  
It had been a pretty good week. Stressful as usual, but somehow she had actually been able to see almost all her turtle brothers. It was rare for her to even be able to hold a decently long conversation with one brother per week because of how busy her schedule always was, but somehow she had been able to meet with 3 out of the 4 brothers this week.

At this point she was just waiting for Mikey to send her a message that he had arrived. She had movies they could watch, games for them to play, new snacks for him to try (some she knew he would love and others she knew he would hate, which would make the experience hilarious as hell), but now she just needed him to show up.  
"Sam."  
Sam turned around and saw Kris walk up behind her.  
"Oh, hey" she said with a smile. "I thought you went home hours ago?" she asked with genuine curiosity.  
"Yeah, I did. And yet you're still here. Geez, how much work do you have to get done?" he whispered with a chuckle.  
"Oh the workload never ends" she groaned as she leaned her cheek against her arm that was laying on the table. "Right now I'm just waiting on a friend to show up and walk me home."  
"Mikey right?" Kris asked.  
Sam scrunched her brow and turned her head towards her friend.  
"How did you know that?"  
"Umm, hate to break it to you, but I got a message from Leo that the guys had to stop a robbery outside of Manhattan. He's not gonna be able to make it. That's actually why I'm here, hehe" he said awkwardly.  
"Oh" Sam said as she slowly nodded her head.  
"Is that okay?" Kris asked, sensing that Sam was upset even though the girl would do everything in her power so that he never knew that.  
"Oh my gosh of course. You think I'd say no to my childhood best friend walking me home?" she said with a genuine smile.

She was fine. This was no big deal. Kris was her friend and she barely got to see him even though they lived together. Why wouldn't this be okay? They were friends, so she was fine…but she was really looking forward to Mikey walking her home. She had been planning that night out in her head all day, but this was fine. I mean, someone had to take care of the city, right? And that was pretty much the only occupation the turtles had. Like technically they could get real jobs depending on the type of job and what was needed to complete it, but this was their main gig. Like, she had to have known that something like this would eventually come up. You know, the one day that she was free and could actually hangout being the day that some idiot robbers had to distract her best friend-  
*BAM!*  
Sam had walked into a wall. Like, literally walked into a damn wall.  
She stood there, her eyes closed from the impact and then slowly opening, just staring at the wall she had walked into. She was too embarrassed to walk away and play it off as if she meant for all of that to happen.  
"Um, you good?" Kris asked.  
Sam pursed her lips. "How many people saw that?" she asked.  
"A group of 10 dudes" he said with an awkward smile, wishing he had the guts to lie and say 'no one.'  
"Super." She then turned towards him with an awkward smile of her own. "Let's go" she said, nodding her head towards the exit.  
"Yeahhhh" Kris said, holding his friend so that he could help prevent her from walking into a wall again.

Of course, two beautiful girls from one of Kris's classes were nearby and saw that Kris (the guy that both girls thought was the most gorgeous thing on earth) was holding onto another female.  
"Kris!" the first girl exclaimed.  
'Thank god we're outside of the library now' Kris thought as the girl ran over towards him as he and Sam exited the building and were now standing outside the front doors.  
Sam looked over and saw a blonde girl with tan skin walk over. She was wearing very tight leggings and a tank top that was flowy towards her mid-section, revealing her stomach as she walked. The second girl was an Asian girl who was wearing the same outfit, but her tank top was much tighter and completely revealed her stomach. Both had sandaled shoes that revealed their perfectly smooth skinned feet and pedicured toes, both had perfectly straight hair, both had make-up that made their faces look smooth and blemish free.

And then there was Sam. Wearing a Vans t-shirt that comfortably covered everything, and her black jeggings, and her black Vans high tops. She thought she looked dope, but of course guys would always go straight for the belly revealing, make-up covered, sandal wearing girls.  
'Man I'm already in a bad mood, I don't need to deal with chicks like these' Sam thought to herself. 'Wait, I'm in a bad mood?' Sam thought to herself. When did that happen? Maybe it was because she walked into a wall, that would usually upset people.  
"Um, what are you doing?" the one girl asked. That's when Sam realized that she was moving her shoulders and head as she nodded to herself…because she was thinking to herself…so basically she was talking to herself while people were around. Awesome.

Sam stared straight at the two girls. "I'm incredibly tired" she said bluntly.  
"Oh. Okay" the girl said with an awkward nod before directing her attention right back to Kris.  
Sam rolled her eyes. Obviously Kris was an extremely attractive dude, but she really didn't feel like waiting while he 'got his flirt on' tonight. If Mikey had been here then she would happily be walking home with him. He wouldn't be flirting with other women, he would be talking to her. No one but her. That was because he couldn't flirt with other women. He would arrive to walk her home and the two would be focused on each other.  
Sam then paused and made, yet again, a weird face.  
'What the hell am I thinking? That was such a weird way to put that' she said as she closed her eyes and scrunched her face. She was thinking genuinely about the quality time her and her best friend would be spending together, but she was thinking about it in such a weird way. Like, why was she emphasizing that the two would be alone? And that his attention would be on her?

"Um, is your girlfriend okay?" the blonde girl asked in a rather annoyed tone.  
Kris quickly turned around. "Sam?" he asked with concern.  
"Hmm?" Sam said as she quickly spun around and faced him with an awkward expression.  
"You good?" Kris asked, genuinely concerned about whether or not his friend was feeling alright.  
Sam nodded. "Yes. I'm just, definitely very tired" she said, hoping that was the actual reason for her thinking these weird thoughts.  
"So she is your girlfriend then?" the blonde asked.  
"No he's all yours honey" Sam said with an annoyed smile.  
"Oh, okay" the girl said, a smile returning to her face.  
'Jesus get me out of here' Sam thought to herself as she stared off towards a nearby alley way.  
'I would have probably met him over there' she thought, not realizing that her shoulder's had slumped down.  
"My friend is very tired, so I'm going to walk her home. Where are the two of you staying?" Kris asked.  
"Oh our apartment is few blocks from here."  
"Oh! Why don't we all head home together then? It's safer to travel in groups anyway" Kris said with sincerity.  
The two girls looked at each other and smiled.  
"That's fine with us. Lead the way" the Asian girl stated.  
Sam rolled her eyes when the others couldn't see.  
'Awesome. Now I have to listen to them talk the entire way home.'

As the group walked, Sam continued to look upwards towards the top of buildings and off in the distance towards alley ways.  
'Come on man. The robbery couldn't have lasted all night, right?'  
She waited, and waited, and continued to hope that maybe Mikey would show up so that she could walk home with him.  
She pursed her lips as she felt a few tears creeping up.  
'DAFUQ IS THIS?!' she thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes. She faked a sneeze so that if anyone turned around, then it would just look like her eyes had become a bit watery from the sneeze.  
Sam was growing irritated in her own thoughts and behaviors. What was she getting all worked up for?! Her best friend wasn't able to walk her home this one time. She had barely been able to talk to him in months! Why was she getting so worked up because of one night? She was so disappointed in herself. Like, really? Because she couldn't watch some movies? And because she couldn't play some video games? And try some snacks? Was it really worth getting this upset about it? It was childish! Just because one night didn't go according to plan? THAT WAS NO REASON TO GET UPSET!

*BAM!*  
And now Sam had walked into a pile of parked bikes, and that lead her to tumble off the curb and into a parked car. Man this was not her night.  
"Jesus Sam!" Kris said. He was dashing back towards her, not realizing that she was walking nowhere near the rest of them.  
Sam's thoughts had distracted her so much that she not only wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, but also didn't realize how slow her pace had become.  
"He had nothing to do with this" she said, trying to make light of the situation. But apparently Kris was taking these blunders much more seriously.  
"Man, I'm sorry Sam. I didn't realize how tired you really were. Here, Jay and Brenda's house is close by. I'm gonna drop you off there for now. That okay?" he asked, not wanting to sound rude but also wanting the girl to lay down and sleep somewhere safe as soon as possible.  
Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."  
At this point she just wanted to lay down in general. Saying today sucked was over exaggerating, but between things not going her way and her thoughts distracting her, and then not even having anything to keep her occupied as the two girls up ahead flirted with Kris the entire walk home, Sam was just done with today.

Luckily they arrived at her brother's apartment building quickly.  
"I'll walk you up" Kris insisted, but Sam made it clear that she wanted to head up by herself.  
She was emotionally tired and honestly pretty confused as to why she was so upset, so she just wanted to be alone.  
She stood outside her brother's door and got her key from her backpack. Sam sighed.  
'At least I'll have the kids to distract me from my confusing thoughts' she thought to herself, a small but still saddened smile on her face.  
She opened the door and was shocked at the sight in front of her.

***Friday April 29****th****, 2016. 1:00a.m.***

****'Shit, shit, shit!' Mikey thought to himself as he leapt and then swung onto a pole from one building so it would launch him with his rocket board over towards the top of a building across the street.  
Of all nights some robbers had to commit petty thefts tonight, and then they were thefts from different locations. The guys traveled in groups of two since Donnie thought it was suspicious and wouldn't let them split off into individual groups in case this was some type of trap. He believed it was just coincidence that there were so many groups in different locations from different gangs and groups, but the guys wanted to play it safe. Mikey just wished they had known all this beforehand so that they could have split off individually and completed their mission ten times faster. Now there was a good chance that he wouldn't get to hang out with his best friend since Leo had apparently contacted Kris to walker her home.  
Mikey loved Kris like a brother and the two were now great friends, but Mikey also knew (or at least assumed) that Sam and Kris had a thing going on. He would never do anything to get in the way of that, but he still wanted to hang out with his best friend and he knew that if Kris arrived first then the two humans would probably want to spend the rest of the night together.

And low and behold, Mikey finally arrived at a building across the street from the universities library just in time to see Sam with Kris's arm around hers.  
"Damn" Mikey sighed as he slumped down over the ledge of the building. He had been beat, and now his best friend would want nothing to do with him for the rest of the night.  
That's when Mikey saw the two girls run over towards where Sam and Kris were standing.  
'Bitches better back off, or my best friend is gonna kick your ass for getting near her man!' Mikey thought to himself with a smirk as he waited for Sam to release her wrath on the two girls…yet Sam just continued to stare off into space and move her shoulders as if she was talking to someone.  
Mikey chuckled. 'She must be so tired that she's talking to herself' he thought to himself with a chuckle.  
Then, to his amazement, the two girls started walking home with Sam and Kris!  
"Oh come on man! Are you that stupid?!" Mikey accidentally said aloud, covering his mouth immediately so that no one would hear him while he was supposed to be in hiding.

He continued to watch the group walk down the street from where he was hiding and was just mind blown as to what the hell Kris was thinking. He was alone with Sam! Sam was a catch of a woman! She was beautiful, she was funny, she was strong yet could be so kind and gentle, her taste in music was as incredible as her dancing, she could handle any and all physical activities, the woman had no flaws!  
'Whoa, watch it Mikey. That's your best friend you're thinking about!' the turtle thought to himself, realizing he was getting a bit carried away. Thank god he hadn't said any of that out loud for anyone to hear.  
The point being, Kris had the time to be alone with an incredible woman and yet he was now walking with two women and leaving Sam behind, which was also beginning to piss Mikey off right now Kris wasn't even paying attention to the fact that Sam was walking much slower than the rest of the group.  
That's when Mikey caught a glimpse of Sam's face. His heart sunk as he watched the girl rub her eyes. Was she crying? DID THAT BOY IGNORING HER FOR OTHER WOMEN MAKE HER CRY?! Now Mikey was genuinely pissed and reached for his phone, ready to contact Sam and remove her from the crazy situation Kris had put her in.

Within the split second Mikey had reached for his phone and had texted a message and was just about to hit send, he looked up and saw Kris holding onto Sam (he had completely missed Sam topple over bikes and into a car). That's when he froze, his finger hovering over the send button. Even though Kris had been walking with those other girls, he came back for Sam. He was now walking with her so that they were side by side. Mikey sighed, what was he thinking? He had no right to intervene with their date, or maybe what was supposed to be a date. Now that he thought about it, Kris was probably walking with those girls so that they wouldn't walk home alone. He wasn't ignoring Sam, he was just being a gentleman, and right now he was probably reassuring Sam that even though he was walking these other girls home that he hadn't forgotten about her.

Mikey sighed once more and ran his hands down his face from exhaustion. He had rushed over here in hopes of hanging out with Sam and instead was getting all worked up while his best friend was on her date. He shook his head, realizing that he needed something to distract himself from everything that was going on.  
"Children, I need to see children" Mikey thought to himself.  
He knew that Donnie was babysitting the kids since they didn't have school the next day, something about a day where there's no school so the parents could meet and have conferences with the teachers. Knowing Renet, she was probably still awake while Donnie was babysitting (Brenda had a late night at the office with April, and Jay was doing some stunt double stuff (dude did a lot of different jobs on the side for extra cash) for a television show that was filming in a further out part of the city).

Mikey quickly made his way over towards the apartment and just like he suspected, everyone was still awake.  
Donnie smiled as he held a smiling baby Keno in his hands.  
"Hey, what's up?" he asked. He heard a ding and carefully placed Keno into his swing as Donnie then made his way over towards the kitchen to get the babies bottle.  
"Not much, just in the mood to see some kiddos" Mikey said as he crouched down in front of the babies swing, making funny faces to get the baby to smile (worked every time).  
"Guess you couldn't catch up to Sam then, huh?" Donnie asked, testing the formula on his arm to make sure it wasn't too hot.  
He noticed the long pause before his brother spoke.  
"Uh, sort of. I got to the library, but she was already heading out with Kris, so I just headed over here since I was already out" Mikey replied, making sure to keep his back to his brother (which Donnie also took note of).  
"And you're okay with that?" Donnie asked as he made his way over to the couch. He placed the bottle on a nearby table and then carefully picked the baby up out of his swing and then got the bottle and got comfy on the couch so that he could feed the baby.  
"What do you mean?" Mikey asked, sitting criss cross on the floor in front of the couch.  
"Uncle Mikey!" Renet called out, dropping everything in her hands and running over towards her youngest mutant uncle.  
"Hey kiddo!" he said, extending his arms so that the girl could run over and jump into his grasp.  
'Way to avoid the question' Donnie thought as he rolled his eyes.  
"I thought it was Uncle Donnie's turn to watch us tonight?" Renet asked.  
"It is, I just thought I would stop by and say hi" he said.  
Renet squinted her eyes.  
"You're upset about something" she stated bluntly.  
"Whaaaaaa?" Mikey asked in attempts to avoid the question with his silliness, but Renet only crossed her arms.  
"You're hiding something. You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" she asked, pouting her lips and making doe eyes at him.  
"You child, are too smart and conniving for your own good" Mikey said with a grin as he started tickling the child, resulting in the child bursting into a bundle of giggles.  
"Answer the question!" Renet said, tears in her eyes from laughing so much.

All of a sudden, the door opened.  
Mikey looked up and was shocked to see none other than Sam standing in the doorway.  
Mikey and Sam both started smiling as they realized that they were truly seeing the other one now in front of them.  
"Hey" she said with a small wave.  
"Hey" he replied, a small chuckle escaping him.  
"Hi Aunt Sam!" Renet said, now running over and hugging her aunt.  
"Hey kiddo! Did you have a good rest of the day today? How does it feel to be five?" Sam asked as she crouched down and hugged her niece.  
"It's been awesome! I got a new tea set and I'm….oh no! My animals! Sorry Aunt Sam, I have business to take care of!" Renet said. She then scurried over towards her wagon of stuffed animals that she forgot about when she saw Mikey and now gathered them all back together. She then pulled the wagon over towards a small kids sized table that was located behind the couch.

Donnie was carefully switching back and forth between looking down at Keno and also looking behind him to watch Renet while she played, however, he was also listening in to the conversation that Sam and Mikey were now holding.  
'There's a seat next to me on the couch, but I bet she'll sit on the floor next to Mikey' Donnie thought as he watched Renet.  
In the corner of his eye he caught Sam place her backpack on the breakfast bar and then walk over and sit down next to Mikey on the floor.  
'Knew it' Donnie thought to himself.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked. "I thought you had to stop a robbery?"  
"We did, and we got all of them, but I wasn't able to make it back in time" Mikey said with an apologetic expression.  
"Then how did you get here?" Sam asked.  
"Well I saw you walking with Kris and-"  
"Wait, you saw me? Where the heck were you?" Sam asked with wide eyes.  
"I was across the street from the library and I stayed in that spot."  
"So why didn't you contact me?"  
Mikey was confused. "Because you were with Kris" Mikey said, his face scrunched in confusion. He then looked behind him to make sure Renet couldn't hear him. Mikey faced Sam and with an infuriated expression whispered "and if he ever does that again to you I'll kick his ass."  
Now Sam was the one with the confused expression. "If he does what?"  
"Ignore you for other women. He was totally ignoring you while he walked with those other girls" he whispered sternly.  
"It's not his job to babysit me" Sam chuckled, "I mean anyone can get distracted and walk into a line of bikes"  
"What?!" Mikey screamed into a whisper.  
"Nothing" Sam said as she jumped back so that her back was straight and she was pretending to actual natural.  
"When did that happen?!" Mikey asked, continuing to angrily whisper to show that he was very upset.  
"I don't know. I was just thinking about stuff at one point and I accidentally walked into a line of bikes…and then into a parked car."  
"Pfft!" Donnie stifled as he quickly covered his mouth and looked away, trying not to laugh at the image of Sam acting so ditzy.  
Mikey and Sam both laughed at Donnie's reaction which helped calm Mikey down as well.  
"Well if he ever ignores you like that again let me know and I'll come help you out. Like knowing him he was just being nice and making sure those girls didn't walk home alone, but still he totally acted like you weren't even there. And I saw how that made you feel" Mikey said, lowering his voice as he stated the last part.  
Sam's face began to turn red a bit. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
"You know…" Mikey said as he then rubbed his eyes, displaying what he saw Sam doing earlier that day.

'Oh crap he knows about that?!' Sam thought to herself. She was too embarrassed to look Mikey in the eyes now that she knew he caught her crying because he didn't walk her home.  
She did look up when she felt a hand resting on her knee.  
She looked up to see Mikey display a gentle smile on his face.  
"It's okay, I don't blame you for feeling that way when your friend ignores you" Mikey reassured.  
Sam pursed her lips. "It's just, things didn't go the way I thought they were going to, you know?" she said as she rubbed her hand behind her head.  
"Oh I know, but that still doesn't justify his behaviors" Mikey said as he crossed his arms.  
Sam paused and then looked her friend in the face. "Behavior?"  
"Yeah. He can still be a gentleman but can show respect and attention towards you as well. In my opinion he acted like a fool tonight" Mikey said as he shook his head.  
The wheels in Sam's head began to turn as she realized Mikey wasn't talking him not being able to walk her home and how that had upset her, she realized that Mikey thought she had begun to cry because Kris was ignoring her.  
She was going to correct him…but something prevented her from doing so.

"Yeah, but like you said, he's a nice guy. I mean hey, that's why he brought me here. He thought it would be safer to leave me somewhere where I could rest as soon as possible. Heh, he thought was the reason why I walked into the bikes. But really I was just distracted and I didn't want to walk near those girls that were drooling all over him anyway" Sam said as she rolled her eyes and turned so that she was facing the television (Donnie had just turned it on so Renet could have a dance party).  
Mikey smiled as he also turned and faced the television, watching the music videos that were displayed on the screen.  
"Don't worry about them, they have nothing on you. All they care about is materials and make-up. You style and personality alone out-beautify what those two girls have."  
Sam chuckled. "Thanks fam" she said, putting he hand out for a fist bump. She didn't turn to actually face him however because she didn't want him to get the wrong idea from the small blush that had formed on her face.  
'Ha, very funny. But thanks for being a sweet brother and trying to make me feel better' Sam thought to herself. She didn't believe that Mikey actually meant what he had said. She knew that the two girls she saw today would be Mikey's ideal types if he could actually go on dates, which meant she also knew that everything he just said was a total lie. But she would be a liar if it didn't feel nice to hear such compliments since no one ever said things like that to her without a reason (such as her feeling down about her appearance and then someone complimented her because that's how that protocol worked) but Mikey would just randomly compliment her like that without there being a reason why he needed to, he just complimented her on his own.

The two continued to talk and eventually joined Renet in her dance party until all three of them eventually collapsed on the couch later that night.  
Donnie continued to watch over everyone (he was the designated babysitter for that night) and just listed and watched carefully, finding the conversations he had heard that night veryyyyyyyyyyyyy interesting. Interesting indeed.

***Saturday April 30****th****, 2016. 1:00a.m. A hotel room in Toronto Canada***

****Hun exited the bathroom of the small room. He looked over to see Karai meditating.  
"Don't worry, you don't need to be silent" she stated as she continued to face forward, refraining from moving from her position.  
"I just got off the phone with operatives in Tokyo. It sounds like Stockman is continuing to follow our orders. They tested the placebo mutagens on him and he was freaking out to the point that he was bleeding from his ears."  
"Has he located a place for us to use?" Karai asked as she stayed in her position.  
"Yes. He has located a destination where he can retrieve materials that can build what we need him to. Then maybe we can once again locate our master" Hun said as he folded clothes into his suit case.  
"We will. Have faith. Not only must we focus on bringing him back, but we must greet him with a Foot clan worth returning to. So far our travels have been successful. We've recruited enough soldiers to join both the clan and also the Purple Dragons."  
"Heh, I was shocked at how many people we found that were willing to participate. I guess if we advertise that we'll provide them with safety for their families in the U.S. then people will do whatever they need to in order to survive. The tests each ran very well, and we even contacted retired clan members that were able to get into the prison both as guards and as inmates."  
Karai sighed.  
Hun looked over at her, sensing her distress.  
"Don't worry Karai. We got Bebop and Rocksteady in the court yard so they should have been informed of the plans already, same with Tatsu and Sachs. All of them will be freed before you know it. I promised you that Tatsu would be first so that you two can complete the mission together" Hun said with a smirk.  
This got the woman to turn around.  
"Do not tease me" she said sternly.  
Hun put his hands up in defense. "Relax, I just know the two of you grew up together and what not. If I had a woman like that I'd be worried about her to" he said with a genuine smile.  
Karai smirked. "Such an ass" she said as she turned back around towards her meditative position.  
"Everything will fall into place soon" she stated, "we will free Tatsu first once we return to New York. He and I will follow Stockman's order using the machine we located and will enter the location, steal what we need, and will then return so that Stockman can build a new portal. Once we have our team reassembled, we can locate Master Shredder. Make sure to work with Sachs while I'm gone. He's never received training to fight besides for general self-defense. From now on he's going to need to defend himself better since he'll be a prison escapee."  
Karai then turned and faced Hun.  
"You're checking-"  
"I've checked everything, 5 times. No one can hear or see what we're doing in this room. I've been trying to track down as many cameras near places we've been, but you know I'm not the best at this. Unfortunately most of our tech guys got locked up in both the clan and the dragons."  
"Alright. I'll contact the few remaining members in New York. I'll let them know that we head home in a few more hours. I'll make sure the members in Tokyo meet us there with Stockman as well. Get ready, because the real fun is going to begin soon" she stated with a sinister smile as she reached for her phone, ready to set the next part of the plan into action.

**OH MY GOSH I'VE FINALLY WRITTEN THIS CHAPTER! Like I don't know why it took me so long to finally update! BUT, it's a long chapter so hopefully that helps make up for me taking so long to submit something new .**

**As you can see, something insane is brewing and is about to happen. Can you handle what's to come? Cause some interesting things are about to happen and I can't wait to finally write about it!**

**Anyway, hope you're continuing to enjoy the story :3  
**

**Also, thank you to those who have been sending me messages of support and encouragement. Hearing that you're enjoying the twists and turns of the series means everything to me since that was one of my goals going into this story and hearing that they're making the story exciting to read warms my heart…that sounds cheesy, I know, but it's the honest truth. I was even deemed as a 'misdiretion goddess' and that made my day.**

**Thank you again to all who read and/or leave comments and/or those who leave likes/kudos/etc. Any type of support is incredible and extremely appreciated.  
And Happy New Years everyone! :D **

**(****in this realm the turtles will meet Timothy, a man who lost his mother years ago due to illness and wants to act like a super hero. Him learning that Sam is a mutant makes him think that mutagen can make him a hero, but it turns him into a blob, and the mutagen that hits Tatsu will turn him into Tiger Claw****). (****IN FUTURE CHAPTERS WHEN THE GIRLS RECEIVE THEIR POWERS, THE TURTLES WILL INTRODUCE THEM TO TIMOTHY SO THAT THEY CAN SEE HOW HORRIBLY WRONG THEIR MUTATIONS COULD HAVE GONE. TIMOTHY is brought back in a canister like in the show and is left in the lab as an experiment for people to work on and try to save him****). **


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